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►

V-

Harvard College
Library

FROM THE BEQUEST OF

FRANCIS BROWN HAYES

Cl™ of 1839

OF LEXINGTON. MASSACHUSETTS

»tr

HISTORY

OF

AS H FO RD

BY THE

REV- A. J. PEARMAN, M.A.,

VICAR OF RAINHAM.

ASHFORD :
H. IGGLESDEN, PUBLISHER, HIGH STREET.

LONDON : S. MARLBOROUGH AND CO., AVE MARIA LANE.

1868.

8^ ^iUi^, I i

JUL 16 1921 ^ "^

PREFACE.

In committing the following pages to the press
I claim no credit but that which is due to industry.
My task has been that of a compiler rather than
of an author. Prom various sources — Hasted's
History of Kent, the Parochial Records, Warren's
manuscript preserved at the College, and the
valuable Papers of Mr. Herbert Smith, the Rev.
L. B. Larking, and Mr. T. G. Fawssett, in the
Archaologia Cantiana — I have drawn the materials,
which with the results of my own observation and

Preface,
readin^r, I have endeavoured to combine in a con-
tinuous narrative. My thanks are due to Mr.
Furley for the readiness with which he allowed
me to make copious extracts from his Lecture on
" Ashford, past and present," and to Mr. Thurston
for his kindness in contributing a chapter which
has no fault but its brevity.

Now that my work is finished I begin to doubt
whether I ought to have undertaken it. Local
history may be made so interesting and so instruc-
tive that it may be questioned if any one should
take it in hand who, to a certain skill in composi-
tion and a certain acquaintance with the annals of
his country, does not add that intimate knowledge
of the place to be described which age, observation,
and long residence alone can give. However, if
my friends will pardon my deficiencies and excuse
the errors into which I may have fallen, they will.

Preface,
I hope, derive some pleasure from my attempt to
"save and recover somewhat," in connection with
their own town, " from the deluge of time."

In this age of progress, when the old landmarks
are fast disappearing, it is gratifying to observe
the increased and increasing interest every where
manifested in the memorials of by-gone days.
There is that in the history of even the most
remote village which is worth knowing. And he
will be not only a more agreeable because a more
intelligent companion, but also a happier and in
some respects a better man, who by the force of
imagination founded on knowledge, can re-people
with their old inhabitants the ruined castle, the
decayed manor-house, the venerable church, he
passes in his daily walks. For himself, and for
others, he will have secured a constant source of
innocent pleasure and one which can hardly fail to

Preface.
exercise a beneficial influence upon his character
and habits. " Whatever," says Dr. Johnsonv no
mean authority, " withdraws us from the power of
our senses, whatever makes the past, the distant,
or the future, predominate over the present, ad-
vances us in the dignity of thinking beings.*'

If what I have written should agreeably revive
old associations in the mind of any former inhabi-
tant of the town or should induce any of its
present occupants to take a more intelligent interest
in its welfare the object I had in view will have
been accomplished.

A. J. P.

July, 1868.

CONTENTS.

PAGBS

Oeneral Descriptioii of Ashford : — Population, Public
Buildings, Cemetery, Markets, Churches and Chapels,
Schools, Brook-place, Antiquities, Railway, The
Whist, New Town, South Ashford, Beaver . . i-ii

The Manor of Ashford : — Successive Owners — Mont-
forts, De Asshetesfords, Criolls, Leyboumes, Sir Simon
Burley, Aucher, Judde, Smiths, Ropers, Foote,
Jemmett ; Manors of Wall and East Stour . .12-21

The Manor of Repton : — ^Mention in Domesday-book,
Successive Owners — ^Valoignes, Fogges, Sondes,
Tuftons ; description of the Old Mansion, Sanatorium,
Sandyhurst ...... 22-32

The Church : — Date, Windows, Altar-piece, Stalls,
Athol Brass, Founder's Tomb and Helmet, Ancient
Date, Smith Monuments, Fogge Brass, Painted Glass
no longer existing. Old Memorials, Impropriate Rec-
tory ....... 33-56

The Vicars of Ashford ..... 57-63

The College : — Foundation, Description of Building as it
fonnerly existed, Carved Oak, Painted Glass . . 64-70

The Grammar School : — Foundation, Buildings, Masters 71-77

The R^;isters : — Burials, Marriages, Baptisms, Memo-
xaada by Mr. Warren ..... 78-89

Contents.

PAGES

The Parochial Acconnts ..... 90-98

Remarkable Events : — Burning of Martyrs, Earthquake,
Plague, Murder, Rejoicings for Peace and at the
Marriage of the Prince of Wales, Curious Facts in
Natural History .... .99-102

Ashford Tokens : — Bassets', Baylefs, Chittenden's, •

Botting's, Redfield's, Flint's . . . 103-105

Remarkable Persons connected with Ashford : — Os-
bomes, Earls of Albemarle, Glover, Wallis, War-
ren, Barham, Jacob, Norwood . 106-115
Charities : — Turner's, Brett's, Milles', Copley's,

Ashurst's, Best's, Fogge's, Alms-houses, Ramsey's. 1 16-122
Will of Sir John Fogge, with note on Goldwell . 123-133

Indenture by Dame Alice Fogge . .134-137

Extracts from Mr. Furley's Lecture : — Census Returns,
Old Coaching Days, Select Vestry, Market, Bank
Robbery, Billiard Room, Swimming Bath . . 138-145

On the Stour, as connected with Ashford, by Mr.
Thurston ...... 146-150

Arms of Ashford ..... 151-152

Addenda : — Rise of Ashford, Lucas, Ruttons, Wood-
wards, Sir Simon de Burley, Subscription for Altar-
piece and for New Bells, Apsleys, Norwoods,
Whitfelds, Farkhurst's return of the value of the
living, Poynet's letters, Grammar School, Cock-
fighting, Turnpike Road to Hamstreet, on the
names of streets in Ashford; allusion by Shakespeare 153-186

ERRATA

Page 2. — For Elliott's^ read Thompsons.
„ 3. — For four arches, read one arch.
4. — For thirteen^ read fifteen years ago.
6. — For three or four, read five or six years
since,
,, 21. — For Captain, read Major.
,, 32. — For Sanitorium, read Sanatorium .

5>

HISTORY OF ASHFORD.

The Parish of Ashford, or Eshetisford as it was
anciently spelt, probably takes it name from the
circumstance that the river which runs through it
was formerly known as the Eschet, and might be
forded at the spot on which the town now stands.
It contains 2,785 acres of land, most of which is
gravelly, with much sand towards the west, and
many fertile pastures on the south and east. The
.population amounted in 1861 to 6,950, since which
time it has considerably increased, and can hardly
be estimated at less than 8,000. Ashford lies in
the hundred of Chart and Longbridge, in the
Eastern Division of the County of Kent, for which
it is a Polling Place, and forms part of the West
Ashford Union. Rateable value, £25,160, Distance
from Lrfindon by railway, 67 miles ; by road, 56.

2 History of Ashford.

The Town is pleasantly situated on a gentle
eminence, and is seen to great advantage when
approached from the road leading to Hythe and
Folkestone. The principal street is wide, well
paved, and ornamented with several handsome
houses, and commands a pleasing view of the
country heyond. Near the centre of the town are
Elliott's Library, a singularly picturesque old
house, of the date of Elizabeth or James I., adorned
in the style called pargetting; and a drinking
fountain, presented by Robert Furley, Esq., in
1864; and at a short distance the Assembly
Rooms, containing accommodation for the weekly
Com Market, Public Meetings, Balls, the County
Court ; and on the ground floor, for the Local
Board and the Mechanics' Institute — ^which has a
well-supplied Reading Room and a Libraiy of
more than a thousand volumes. These rooms
are the property of a Company, and have been
enlarged and beautified by the shareholders at
considerable expense, in order to meet the various
requirements of the inhabitants and of the neigh-
bouring agriculturists, on whose support the
welfare of the town so largely depends. .In the
High Street are also situated the Ashford Bank, of
Messrs. Jemmett, Pomfiret, Burra, and Burra ; the

History of Ashford. 3

London and County Bank ;, the Savings Bank ; the
Post Office ; the office of the Kentish Express^ a
local paper started by the present proprietor in
1855, and commanding a weekly circulation of
10,000; and the well-known linen manufactory
which was carried on for many years by the
Houghton family. Here, too, though at some dis-
tance from each other, are the chief hotels : the
Saracen's Head, the old " Manor House" of Ash-
ford, lately enlarged and improved ; and the Royal
Oak, at which the Corn Market was formerly held ;
as weU as the George Inn, an old-established
house, the head-quarters of most of the carriers to
the neighbouring villages. At the bottom of the
hill is a steam and water-mill, and a stone bridge
of four arches crossing the Stour.

The end of North Street nearest to the town has
lately been widened by public subscription. This
street contains several houses of a superior
kind and conducts to the Cemetery, which was
opened in 1859, and occupies seven acres of
ground purchased of the Dean and Chapter of
Rochester. From the Cemetery delightful views
are obtained of Eastwell Park — the seat of Lord
Winchilsea, and Wye Downs ; with the neigh-
bouring churches of Willesborough, Sevington,

4 History of Askford.

Hinxhill, and Kennington. It has a lodge, with
accommodation for the meetings of the Burial
Board and for the residence of the curator; and
two elegant chapels, one of which — ^that surmoun-
ted by a spire — is intended for the use of the mem-
bers of the Church of England, and the other for
that of the various bodies of Protestant Dissenters.
A small portion of the ground is assigned to the
Roman Catholics. The whole is very neatly kept,
and will repay a visit. It is understood that the
entire cost amounted to about ;f5,ooo, of which
;f 125 is paid off, together with the interest on the
whole sum, by an annual rate. On the south side
of the High Street, near to the Assembly Rooms,
is Bank Street, a range of houses erected about
thirteen years ago on the gardens belonging to the
Ashford Bank, and leading by Elwick Road to the
New Com Exchange, a spacious and handsome build-
ing opened in 1861, and well adapted for balls and
public meetings. Nearly opposite the New Com
Exchange is the Cattle Market. Previous to 1855
sheep and oxen as well as pigs were penned in the
centre of the town, to the great inconvenience of
females, who scarcely dared to venture into the
street, and to the serious annoyance in the sum-
mer season of the inhabitants in general. The

History of Ashford, 5

evil attracted the notice of some enterprising gen-
tlemen of the town and neighbourhood, by whom
a company was formed, and the present most con-
venient and well-arranged market opened. It has
proved in every respect a great success, being well
attended by butchers and graziers, and yielding a
fair profit to the promoters. In Tufton Street, at
no great distance from the Market, are four Alms
Houses of neat design, built in 1853-4 ; and the
Police Station, erected in 1864, with a lofty and
convenient room for the administration of justice
and a residence for the divisional superintendent
of police. Opposite the Police Station is a neat
building of two stories which was erected in 1865
as a lodging house for the casual poor ; it is com-
modious, cleanly, and well regulated.

In addition to the Parish Church (of which a
fuller account will hereafter be given) the town
contains the Roman Catholic Chapel of St. Teresa,
at Barrow Hill, opened in August, 1865, on which
occasion a sermon was preached by Archbishop
Manning : the Congregational Chapel, with school-
room attached, designed by Mr. Poulton, of Read-
ing, and erected in 1865, in a line with Church
Road, at an estimated cost of ;f 3,000 : the Wes-
leyan Chapel in Hempstead Street ; the General

6 History of Ashford.

Baptist Chapel in St. John's Street : the Particular
Baptist Chapel in Norwood Street : and the
Friends* Meeting House in New Rents. It has
also (besides the Grammar School and several pri-
vate establishments) a National School, with a
house for the master, erected in 1841, where the
Barracks formerly stood at Barrow Hill, and en-
larged at various periods, in which between 4.00
and 500 children daily receive an excellent educa-
tion based on the principles of the Church of Eng-
land ; and a British School, removed three or four
years since to the present neat and commodious
premises in West Street, and well reported of by
the Government Inspector.

Near the Market Place is a large house which
in Hasted's day was the residence of Dr. Isaac
Rutton, a physician of long and extensive practice
in the town and neighbourhood, being the eldest
son of Matthias Rutton, Esq., of Ashford, by
Sarah, daughter of Sir Nicolas Toke, of Godinton.
Dr. Rutton died in 1792. Since that time the
house has been divided into two, one of which is
now occupied by J. T. Startup, Esq., and the other
by Mr. F. Hyland. At the same period there stood
in the High Street a handsome mansion built in
1759 by John Mascall, Esq., who died possessed of

History of Ash ford. 7

it in 1769, and was buried in Boughton Aluph
Church, bearing for his arms Barry of two, or and
azure, three inescutcheons emiine. This house
occupied the site on which those now inhabited
by Messrs. Sheppard, Norwood, Thurston, and
Dobree, were subsequently erected, and was pulled
down in the earlier half of the present century. At
the east end of the town is a residence called
Brook Place, which probably took its name from
Cranmer Brooke, Esq., described a^ ** of Ashford."
He was a grandnephew of Archbishop Cranmer,
and of the family of Brooke Lords Cobham, (to
whom belonged Sir John Oldcastle, the famous
Lollard), and married Abigail, daughter of the
third Sir John Fogge, of Repton. Brooke Place was
long the seat of the Woodwards, who were always
styled in ancient deeds " gentlemen," and bore for
their arms Argent, a chevron sable between three
grasshoppers or, William Woodward was buried
at Ashford in 1585. His last descendant, John
Woodward, having rebuilt the house, died in
1757. From the Woodwards Brooke Place passed
through the Bretons to Josias Pattenson, Esq., of
Biddenden, who married Mary, widow of John
Mascall, Esq., and daughter of Henry Bering,
Esq., of this town. It subsequently became the

8 History of Ashford.

property of Richard Dawes, Esq., by whom it
was sold to Dr. Maund, who having considerably
improved the house alienated it on his departure
from Ashford in 1865, to F. H. Hallett, Esq., the
^ present owner and occupier.

Some houses near the Market Place and some
in North Street exhibit evident marks of antiquity.
During some excavations opposite Mr. Thorpe's
house a Saxon vessel was discovered, with a
skeleton and weapons. The vessel measured nine
and a half inches in height, and three and three-
quarters inches in width at the top. It is a
remarkably fine specimen of the twisted or pillared
pattern, of a pale or rather olive green colour,
which assumes a deeper shade of green at the
lower extremity.

Ashford is supplied with both water and
gas, and is under the general management of a
Local Board consisting of twenty-one members*
of whom seven annually retire but are eligible for
re-election. Few towns possess greater advan-
tages in the matter of railway communication ;
Ashford being a first-class station on the main line
of the South Eastern Railway Company, and also
the point at which the Canterbury branch diverges
on the one hand and the Hastings on the other.

History of Ashford. 9

Near the Station, which was newly-built in an im-
proved style in 1865, are the Nursery Grounds
of Messrs. Bunyard, in which a flower show is
sometimes held during the season, and largely pat-
ronised by the inhabitants of the town and neigh-
bourhood ; and at a short distance, on the bank of
the stream, is " The Whist," a house for some
years in the possession of the Greenhill family,
bearing on its front the date 1707, and taking its
name in all probability from its retired situation —
the word " whist '* signifying ** quiet," and being
still used by country people in that sense.

To the south of the line a New Town has
sprung up since 1846. The houses, which are the
property of the South Eastern Railway Company
and occupied by their workmen and officials, are of
a neat and uniform character, and arranged for the
most part round a central green. Here are public
baths, a reading room with library, and a school
supported by the company and attended by about
550 children, who are carefully taught by compe-
tent instructors.

Almost adjoining to the New Town (originally
called Alfred) is South Ashford, consisting of seve-
ral streets inhabited by persons employed in the
Railway Works, many of whom are the owners of

10 History of Ashford.

the houses they occupy. To these Railway Works
is to be attributed the large increase in the popula-
tion, which within a few years has rendered Ash-
ford one of the most improving towns in the
county. The South Eastern Railway Company
here employ upwards of a thousand workmen in
the construction of engines and carriages, and with
gyreat liberality permit persons properly introduced
to inspect the various processes of manufacture.
We may also remark that the carriage used by
Her Majesty and members of the Royal Family
when travelling on the line is kept here. Though
now somewhat faded by the lapse of time, it is of
elegant design and complete in its fittings, and
must have cost a large sum of money when con-
structed.

Further on to the south, and immediately con-
tiguous to South Ashford, is a district known as
Beaver, which in the reign of Henry II. (1154-
1189) belonged to John Beauvoir, or Beaver, whose
ancestor was one of the followers of William the
Conqueror. In what was probably the original
farm house of the property — a picturesque black
and white house covered with ivy, but in a most
dilapidated state, situated at some little distance
from the turnpike road — is a floor of Bethersden

History of Ashford. ii

marble. Since the establishment of the South
Eastern Railway Company's works at New Town,
just referred to, a large number of houses have been
erected in the whole of this neighbourhood, and
an increasing population of upwards of two thou-
sand persons is now to be found where but a few
years since a few cottages were thinly scattered in
the green fields. To meet the requirements of the
district, a church, known as Christ Church,
and capable of containing six hundred worship-
pers, has been erected on a site given by G. E.
Jemmett, Esq., Lord of the Manor of Ashford.
The estimated cost is ;f3,700. The architect was
Mr. H. J. Austin, and the builders Messrs. Steddy,
Joy, and Steddy, of this town. It was opened for
Divine Service on the ist of May, 1867.

12 History of Ash ford.

THE MANOR OF ASHFORD.

Of the Norman nobles whose services the Con-
queror recompensed by liberal grants from the for-
feited lands of the defeated Saxons, few had more
reason to congratulate themselves than Hugo de
Montfort. Large estates were bestowed upon him
in different counties. Among them he obtained
the Manor of Ashford, which was entered in the
famous record of Domesday under the general title
of his possessions : ** Maigno holds of Hugo Este-
fort. Turgisus held it of Earl Godwin, and it is
taxed at * one suling.' The arable land is half a
carucate. There is, nevertheless, in demesne one
carucate, and two villeins having one carucate.
There are two servants and eight acres of meadow.
In the time of King Edward the Confessor it was
worth twenty-five shillings; when he received it,
twenty shillings ; now, thirty shillings. The same
Hugo holds Essela. Three tenants held it of King
Edward, and could go whitherthey would with their
lands. It was taxed at three yokes. The arable

Manor of Ashford. 13

land is one carucate and a half. There are now
four villeins with two borderers, having one caru-
cate and six acres of meadow. The whole in the
reign of King Edward the Confessor was worth
twenty shillings, and afterwards fifteen shillings,
now twenty shillings. Maigno held another Es-
setisford of the same Hugo. Wirelm held it of
King Edward. It was taxed at one suling. The
arable land is four carucates. In demesne there
are two, and two villeins with fifteen borderers,
having three carucates. There is a church, and
a priest, and three servants, and two mills of ten
shillings and two pence. In the time of King Ed-
ward the Confessor it was worth seventy shillings,
and afterwards sixty shillings, now one hundred
shillings."

The family of Montfort, however, were not des-
tined to a long enjoyment of their acquisitions ; for
Robert de Montfort, the grandson of Hugh, having
espoused the cause of Duke Robert of Normandy,
the elder and ill-used brother of Henry I., was glad
to purchase life and liberty at the cost of property,
and obtained permission to go on a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem, leaving his possessions in the hands of
the King. The Manor of Ashford appears to have
been soon afterwards granted to a family who

14 History of Ashford.

adopted its name as their own. William de Ass*
hetesfordi as Lord of this Manor, gave to the
Priory of Horton divers rents paid by the tenants
of the yoke of Northbrooke in this parish, which
gift was confirmed by Maud de Asshetesford, wi-
dow of Simon de Crioll, before the Justices Itine-
rant at Canterbury, Anno 55, Henry 3. Matilda,
as heir to her father, had carried this Manor in
marriage to Sir Simon de Crioll, a son of that Ber-
tram de Crioll, who was popularly known as the
" Great Lord of Kent.** Simon died in 1267, hav-
ing obtained for this Manor about twenty-five years
before a charter of free warren. The jury at the
inquisition on his death found that ** the said
Matilda held of our Lord the King in capite two
knights* fees in Essetford, Seventon, and Ustes-
ture and Pakemanston, to wit, three carucates of
land with their appurtenances which are worth per
annum £20, with the advowson of the Church of
Essetford, which is worth per annum thirty
marks, by payment annually of 20s. to the Ward of
the Castle of Dover. And they say that the said
Simon held nothing of our Lord the King in capite ;
but held at Moningeham 240 acres in gavelkind of
the Prior of the Holy Trinity, and 60 acres at
Twycham of the Lord Archbishop ; and at Swat-

Manor of Ashford, 15

ford, of the Abbot of St. Augustine, 60 acres of
stubborn land ; and at Sadhokesherst, of William
and Henry de Sadokesherst, 60 acres of most stub-
bom land. And he has eight sons, who all equally
succeed him in the aforesaid inheritance, and the

said Matilda holds in right of marriage a moiety

*

of all the aforesaid land so long as she is a wi-
dow." William de Crioll, son of Simon and Ma-
tilda, after the death of his mother, and in accord-
ance with her intention, exchanged this Manor
for Stocton in Huntingdonshire and Romford in
Essex with Roger de Leybourne. Ashford thus
came into the possession of one of the most re-
markable of the old baronial families of Kent, and

its new master was himself not the least notice-
able of his race. Roger de Leybourne, emphati-
cally " a man of war from his youth," passed his
whole life between the tilting lists and the battle
field — " as seeming war some merry sport to hold."
" We have him one day, from pure revenge, killing
purposely an old adversary in a mere tilting-joust ;
then a few years later, out, like his father before
him, with his fellow barons in open rebellion, and
during that rebellion ever and anon seeking adven-
tures in wild forays and wasting raids ; but after-
wards, when the French King had arbitrated be-

1 6 History of Ash ford.

tween Henry and his insurgent barons, in loyal
compliance with the award of that arbitration, he
attached himself to his lawful sovereign ; thence-
forward with faithful allegiance ever strenuously
fighting for the King; at Northampton, in the
gallant defence of Rochester Castle, on the fatal
field of Lewes, and in the crowning victory at
Evesham. In almost every public act, mission, or
convention he appears for many years prominent
as the most confidential and active servant of the
Crown, till he ended his stirring career in 12711
while bearing part, like a true knight, in Prince
Edward's Crusade to the Holy Land." Sir Roger
was succeeded by his son. Sir William de Leybum,
a man of great eminence and wealth. He largely
increased his paternal property by a marriage with
Juliana, the daughter and heir of Sir Henry de
Sandwico, and being present with Edward L at
the Siege of Carlaverock, is strongly marked by the
chronicler as " a brave man, without a * but * or an
* if.* " On the death of Sir William, in 1309, his
estates descended to his grand-daughter, the fa*
mous Juliana, called from the immense extent of
her possessions in this county "the Infanta of
Kent." She was thrice married ; first, to John
Lord Hastings and Abergavenny, by whom she

Manor of Ash ford, i*]

had a son, Lawrence, created Earl of Pembroke,
secondly to Thomas le Blount, and thirdly to
William de Clinton, Earl of Huntingdon, Governor
of Dover Castle and King's Admiral from the
Thames westward. The inventory of her goods,
which has descended to our days, testifies to the
opulence and magnificence as well as the lavish
hospitality with which she resided at her seat of
Preston. Having already bestowed many of her
manors on religious houses, she, five years previous
to her death, conveyed the rest of her paternal
inheritance to the King, reserving to herself
only a life interest therein, with a view to its
being at her death divided among certain religious
establishments. She died in 1367, and thi^
manor of Ashford then passed into the hands
of the Crown till Richard H. rested it in Feoffees
for the performance of certain pious bequests of
the lately deceased Edward HI., and the Feoffees
soon afterwards, with the King's licence, bestowed
it as an endowment on the collegiate chapel of St.
Stephen, at Westminster. On some false sugges-
tions, however, of Sir Simon de Burley, the King
deprived the Dean and Canons of these possessions
and conferred them on him; but he did not long
enjoy his gains, being condemned for high treason

1 8 History of Askford.

in 1387, when they reverted to their previous
owners, until in the first year of Edward VI., i547t
the collegiate chapel with aU its endowments was
surrendered to the Crown. Two years after the
surrender, the King granted the Manor of Ash ford,
with that of Wall, and the I^Ianor of Esture (East
Stour), to Sir Anthony Aucher, of Otterden, who
sold them in 1555 to Sir Andrew Judde. Sir
Andrew was a native of Tunbridge, where he
founded the Grammar School, and having served
the office o( Lord Mayor of London in 1552, he
died in 1558, and was buried in St. Helen's Church,
leaving an only daughter, Alice, married to Thomas
Smith, Esq., of Westenhanger. This Thomas
Smith, usually called the Customer, from his having
farmed the customs of the Port of London, had
acquired an immense fortune, and receiving from
Queen Elizabeth a grant of the Manor of Westen-
hanger, resided there, in the mansion which he
greatly beautified. It was a seat of much historic
interest. Tradition says that in one of its massive
towers, which yet bears the name of Rosamond's,
the frail beauty, previous to her removal to Wood-
stock, received the visits of her royal lover. If
not erected by one of the great family of Crioll, it
was certainly enlarged and fortified by them. The

Manor of Ashford, 19

Walls were very high and of great thickness, the
whole of them embattled, and strengthened with
nine large towers. It contained a chapel built by
Sir Edward Poynings in the time of Henry VIII.
with a vaulted roof of stone, a great hall fifty feet
long, one hundred and twenty-six rooms, and, by
report, three hundred and sixty-five windows. Sir
Thomas died in 1591, and was succeeded by his
son, Sir John Smith, High Sheriff of Kent, in 1602,
who, dying in 1609, was buried like his father
in the south transept of Ashford Church,
leaving a son, created in 1628 Viscount Strangford.
The Smith family remained in possession of this
Manor until 1709, when, on the death of Philip,
third Viscount Strangford (whose remains are also
interred in this church) it passed, under the provi-
sions of his will, to Henry Roper, Lord Teynham,
who had married Catherine, his eldest daughter.
The Ropers were a race of great antiquity. One
of them, John Roper, of Canterbury, lent Richard
II. forty pounds towards fitting out a fleet against
the French and the Scots. Another, William
Roper, of St. Dunstan*s and Linsted, married the
learned and excellent Margaret, daughter of the
ill-fated Sir Thomas More. Lord Teynham settled
this Manor of Ashford on his second wife, Anne,

20 History of Ashford.

afterwards Baroness Dacre, and on his issue by
her, to the exclusion of his sons by his first wife,
the daughter of Lord Strangford. On the death of
the Hon. Charles Roper, Lady Dacre's son, the
property descended (subject to their mother's life
interest) to his heirs in gavel-kind, Trevor-Charles
and Henry Roper, but they being infants and the
estates heavily incumbered, an Act of Parliament
was obtained to authorise the sale of this and their
other property. The premises with which we are
concerned were thus described in the Act — " The
Manor of Ashford, alias Ashtisford, with its rents,
members, and appurtenances, viz., the capital
messuage called the Saracen's Head Inn and the
shops under the same, and two parcels of land
called * the Park' containing four acres, and divers
shops, houses, and pieces of land, in Ashford^'*
Accordingly, in 1765, the Rev. Francis Hender
Foote, of Bishopsboume, became the purchaser of
this Manor, by whose descendant, Robert Foote,
Esq., it was conveyed to the family of its present
possessor, Geoi^ge Elwick Jemmett, Esq.

At the last sale, the Saracen's Head — the old
manorial residence — became detached from the
manor. Until the recent alterations it contained
some carved oak, and had a picturesque gable at
the back.

Manor of Ashford. 21

The Manor of Wall was sold by Mr. Foote in
1768 to John Toke, Esq., of Godinton, and is now
the property of Captain John Leslie Toke.

The farm (or demesne lands) of the Manor of
Esture, or East Stour, was many years since
alienated by one of the Viscounts Strangford, and
has from that period been in the possession of
separate owners from those of Ashford Manor. In
1628 East Stour was occupied by the Halls, a
family of some consideration in the neighbourhood,
to whom a coat of arms had been granted by
Robert Cooke, Clarenceux, in 1588. At the close of
the last century it belonged to Mr. Rooke, an officer
in the East India Company's service, and has since
passed by sale, through Head and Whitfeld, to
Sir Richard Tufton, Bart. The house is pleasantly
situated, and is inhabited by the family of the late
Walter Murton, Esq.

22 History of Ashford.

THE MANOR OF REPTON.

The Manors of Great and Little Repton, formerly
part of the possessions of St. Augustine's, at
Canterbury, are thus described in Domesday- Book:
*' The Abbot himself holds one yoke, Rapentone
and Ansered of him, and it was taxed at one yoke.
The arable land is two carucates. In demesne
there is one with four borderers. There are eleven
acres of meadow, and the fourth part of a mill, of
fifieenpence, and wood for the pannage of ten hogs,
and as yet there are two yokes which the Abbot
gave it of his demesne, and there are two villeins
with eight borderers. In the time of King Edward
the Confessor, and afterwards, it was worth three
pounds^ now four pounds."

These Manors were held by knight's service of
the Abbot by the eminent family of Valoigns, who
possessed considerable estates at Swerdling, in
the parish of Petham, and Tremworth, in Crun-

Manor of Repton. 23

dalL Ruellon de Valoigns resided at Repton,
and had this county in ferm from King Ste-
phen, at the rent of ;f26o ad pensam, and £'j6
and 2od, de numero. He was also sheriff in the first
year of Henry H., ii54. The same office was
filled by his son, Allan de Valoigns, from 1 184 to
ii8g. The name of Waretius de Valoigns appears
in the catalogue of Kentish gentlemen who were
present with Richard the Lion-hearted at the
famous siege of Acre ; and that of Sir William de
Valoigns among those who received the honour of
Knighthood from the hands of the first Edward for
their bravery at the no less famed siege of Carlave-
rock. But the name of Valoigns was known in
connection with posts of civil honour as well as
with deeds of warlike fame — in the great council
of the nation as well as under the burning sky of
Palestine, or on the storm-tossed coast of Scotland
— for on six occasions, from 1300 to 1375, was a
Valoigns chosen to represent this county in Parlia-
ment. At length Waretius de Valoigns dying in
the reign of Edward HI. without male issue, this
Manor and seat of Repton passed to his daughter
and co-heir Joane, the wife of Sir Francis Fogge.
The Fogge family, to which the town of Ashford
is so greatly indebted, was of northern extraction,

24 History of Ashford.

and migrated from Lancashire into Kent in the per-
son of Otho, the grandfather of the fortunate
Francis. Sir Francis resided at Repton, and was
buried in Cheriton Church " with his portraiture
cross-legged affixed to his sepulchral stone, which
implies that he had obliged himself by some vow
to assert the cross and sepulchre of our Saviour.''
Sir Thomas Fogge, his son, and successor in the
possession of this manor, was buried at Glaston-
bury in Somerset, having been thrice Knight of the
Shire, and married to Anne Countess of Joyeux,
whose remains lie in Ashford Church. The second
Sir Thomas Fogge, heir of the first, was a great
warrior. He espoused Joane, daughter of Sir
Stephen de Valence, a lady in whose veins flowed
the blood royal of England, being the descendant
of William de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, half-
brother to Henry HI. She died in 1425. Sir
Thomas attended "Old John of Gaunt, time-
honoured Lancaster," to Spain in 1386 on his
expedition against the King of Castile, whose
crown he claimed ; and having several times repre-
sented this county in Parliament, died in 1407,
and was interred in the nave of Canterbury
Cathedral, where his effigy in complete armour
formerly existed with the following inscription : —

Manor of Repton. 25

"Thomas Fogge jacet hie, jacet hie sua sponsa Johanna,
Sint Coelo Gives per te Deus hos et Hosanna,
Regni Proteetor Francos Britones superavit,
Nobilium Rector sicuti Leo castra predavit
Et quoque militiam sic pro patria peramavit,
Ad summam patriam Deus hinc ab agone vocavit."

His grandson, Sir John Fogge, merits on many
accounts the grateful notice of every well-wisher of
the town of Ashford. We find him, the lord of
immense territories, taking a leading part in the
struggles of the eventful days wherein his lot was
cast, then closing an active life in peace and
honour, the munificent patron of the parish in
which he lived, and of the church within whose
walls he found his last earthly home. Already
the heir of the Fogges and the Valoignses,
he added to his possessions the domains of the
CrioUs by his marriage with Alice, daughter and
co-heir of Sir Thomas Crioll, of Westenhangen
Sir Thomas was left on the field of St. Albans by
the Yorkists to deliver up their prisoner Henry VI.
after their defeat on Shrove Tuesday, 1461. The
gentle Henry had promised him his life, but Queen
Margaret, elated with her triumph, had him be-
headed the next day. Harding, however, in some
quaint verses, makes him to have been slain in the
battle :—

26 History of Ashford.

•* The lords of the north southward came
To Sainct Albones, upon the fasting gang eve.
Where then thei slewe the Lord Bonville I leve
And Sir Thomas Kyriell^ also of Kent,
With mekell folke, that pitee was to see.''

In the desolating wars of the Roses, Sir John
Fogge appears to have at first espoused the cause
of the house of Lancaster, as he held the office of
keeper of the wardrobe to the unfortunate Henry
VI. Some circumstance, however, induced him to
change his side in the great national quarrel.
His subsequent marriage with Alice Haute, who
had previously been the wife of a Woodville, and
consequently a relative of the Queen of Edward IV,
would tend to bind him to the rising fortunes of the
line of York. In the favour of Edward he soon
held a high place, being made Comptroller of the
Household and a Privy Councillor, besides '^twice,
if not thrice, serving as Sheriff of Kent. His
zealous attachment to the new sovereign is testified
by an incident related by Weever that " he sate
with the Duke of Clarence, the Earl of Warwick,
and the Lord Rivers, in judgment upon Sir Thomas
Cooke, of Giddie Hall, in Essex," on an indictment
presented by himself. Sir Thomas, though seem-
ingly innocent of the imputed crime — that of

Manor of Repton, 27

lending money for the service of Queen Margaret —
was hardly dealt with, nor from the constitution of
the court could an impartial decision be expected.
Fogge also appears to have taken an active part
in Edward's expedition against France in i475> as
a letter is extant in which the King commands the
Prior of Christ Church, Canterbury, to deliver
" unto our trusty and right well-beloved Knight,
Sir John Fogge, also our counsellor, and others,
the summe of a thousand marks that ye have of
ours in keeping, to the entent that they may
furnish out in all haste a thousand archers forth-
with to depart to the Towne of Calaise." But
neither in the cares of state, nor in the pleasures
of the court, did Sir John forget the interests of
his own immediate neighbours. Lambarde tells
us that " King Edward the Fourth in the fifth year
of his reign (1465) did give a fair to be holden at
Asheford four daies yearly, beginning on the even
of St. John Port Latine, by the suit (as it seemeth)
of the same Sir John Fogge, his controller, for the
amendment of the towne, to which his house at
Ripton was neighbour."* He founded also the

• Its days no doubt became May 17 and 18, instead of May
6, &c., by the operation of the Act of 1752, in which Fairs
were specially exempted from removal by the New Style, and
remaining actually on the same day, became nominally eleven
days later.

28 History of Ashford.

College for a Prebendary or Master, two Chaplains,
and two secular Clerks, to celebrate Divine Service
for ever, and completely renovated the Parish
Church, building from the foundation the lofty and
elegant tower which still testifies to his taste, and
providing by a bequest of houses and lands for the
permanent support of the fabric to which he had
been so liberal a benefactor. The death of
Edward, however, reversed his position. His
attachment to that monarch's family brought on
an attainder in the succeeding reign and the for-
feiture of his lands. We have no means of know-
ing whether he was or was not actively engaged
on the side of Richmond, but if he drew no sword
at Bosworth field, it is certain that the first year of
Henry's reign witnessed his restoration to the vast
estates of which he had been deprived. The few
remaining years of his life were passed in tranquil
prosperity, and at length the man of many fights,
the friend and counsellor of kings, paid the debt of
nature, August, 1490, and was buried where now
stands the gorgeous tomb he had ordered for himself
on the north side of the High Altar in Ashford
Church. His eldest son. Sir John Fogge, suc-
ceeded him in this manor of Ripton, and his
grandson of the same name, having procured his

Manor of Repton, 29

lands to be disgavelled in 1540, and being sub-
sequently Knighted, kept his Shrievalty here in the
36th year of Henry VIII., and dying in 1564, was
buried with his ancestors in the family vault.
Sir John left an only son and heir, Edward Fogge,
Esq., who dying without issue in 1573, this manor
came, under the entail in his father's will, to his
uncle, George Fogge, Esq., of Braborne, who soon
afterwards sold this ancient seat of his family to
Sir Michael Sondes, of Throwley, and he conveyed
it to John Tufton, Esq., of Hothfield, afterwards
Knight and Baronet, whose son Nicholas was
created in 1629 Earl of Thanet. The Tufton
family, whose name was originally written Toketon,
held land at Rainham in this county as early as the
reign of King John. In the time of Richard II.
one of them was seated at Northiam, in Sussex,
where they remained till John Tufton, Esq.,
removed to Hothfield, on receiving a grant of that
manor from Henry VIII. Sir Richard Tufton,
Bart., is the present owner of Great and Little
Repton.

After the sale of Repton the Fogge family declined
in importance. Of all the Manors left by Sir John
one only remained to his descendants at the close
of the next century — that of Dane Court, Tilman-

30 History of Ashford.

stone. Here for three generations they resided as
country gentlemen of moderate means. Richard
^ogg^t Esq., however, espousing the cause of
Charles I. paid the penalty of his loyalty, and the
ruin of his ancient line was soon completed. " At
this time," says Warren, 171 1, "according to the
vicissitude of human affairs, all ye estate in ye
family, notwithstanding their great possessions
formerly, is not much above £50 per annum.
Indeed Captain Christopher Fogge (who was once
taken by ye Turks and for whom no small sum
was paid to redeem him from slavery) improved
his estate by using ye sea many years after his
redemption: but he dying without issue and his
lady succeeding to all he was worth, the descend-
ants of the Fogges are excluded from enjo3ang ye
fruits of the Captain's labours. He was Com-
mander of the Rupert, a third rate man-of-war. He
died aboard his own ship in the River Thames
soon after he came home from his last voyage in
or about ye year 1707." Richard Fogge, mariner,
whose sister had married .a blacksmith at Sandwich,
sold Dane Court in 1724, and left, 1740, an only
child, Elizabeth Fogge, who in the latter portion
of the last century was living in a wretched hovel
at Eastry, the wife of a poor shepherds

Manor of Repton. 31

The old mansion at Repton, long since con-
verted into a farm-house, was pulled down some
years ago and the present dwelling erected in its
place. The following account is taken from
Warren's M.S. written in 1712. "The House is
pleasantly situated. There is a good prospect from
ye house ; Lodge-wood, the Hoads, a Park^^(now
dispark'd) and a Warren in ye Park at a little
distance from ye House. There was formerly a
very large pond, producing fish and wild-fowl
in great abundance, but by breaking of its banks is
long £i^ce decayed, the streams only now remaining
that used to feed it. The House is fallen very
much from ye ancient stateliness which *tis likely
it had when ye families above-mentioned resided
there ; but so much of ye building as remains is
substantial. The Building is of Needlework like
ye college or vicarage-house ; and though there is
now nobody that remembers much more of ye
building than is now standing yet formerly it was
much larger than it is at present. There still
appear ye mines of some walls at several rods
distance from ye building wrhich now remains, and
particularly there are some mines of a stone-
building on that side of ye house towards Chart,
which by ye ffoundations seem to have been ye

32 History of Ashford.

walls of a large room, under which there is still a
large vault extending itself ye whole length and
breadth of y« room above. There are also other
vaults or cellars under y^ house yt is now standing.
I have been informed by John Rigden, ye servant,
that there are about 300 acres of land belonging to
this ffarm. I had ye curiosity not long since to
descend into ye large vault above-mentioned ; I
judge it to be about 24 ffeet long, and about 12 feet
broad, and about 10 ffeet high. It is well arched,
has several iron rings still remaining in ye ceiling ;
but ye pavement (if ever there was any) is dug up:
the cellar stairs quite gone or covered with deep dirt."

Repton is situated about a mile from the centre of
the town and is in the occupation of Mr. John Fitch
Spicer.

The usual Courts are still held for this manor,
and for the Manor of Ashford.

At a little distance, on the confines of the
Warren and commanding a fine view, is the
Sanitorium, erected by H. Whitfeld, Esq., as a
place to which persons suffering from infectious
complaints may be removed, and there nursed at
a moderate cost. Further on, and at the extreme
limit of the parish, is Sandyhurst, the substantial
residence of Mr. H. Foster, and property of Sir
R. Tufton. It lies pleasantly in a sheltered valley.

The Church. 33

THE CHURCH.

The Parish Church of Ashford forfns a conspicuous
object in the landscape and stands near the centre
of the town, of which it is the chief ornament.
It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and is a large
cruciform building, consisting of a nave with
aisles, transepts, and three chancels, surmounted
at the point of intersection by a lofty tower, in
which are a clock, eight bells, and a set of musical
chimes.

There was a Church at Ashford when Domesday
Book was con^piled. The present building dates
from the time of Henry I., but was so altered and
reconstructed by Sir John Fogge, who flourished
in the reign of Edward IV., that, as a whole, it
may be called a Perpendicular edifice of the latter
half of the fifteenth centuxy.

In length it measures 136 feet, and in breadth,
at the widest, xoo feet. The height of the tower

34 History of Ashford.

is 1 20 feet. The church will contain 1700 per-
sons. Of the galleries, with which the nave is
unfortunately but necessarily surrounded, the west
was erected in 1772, the south in 17 17, the north
in 17 18. This last was formed by the junction of
two, one of which was put up in 16 16, and the
other, ornamented with the KnatchbuU Arms and
intended for the use of the Grammar School, in
1637. The pews (good of their kind) now in the
body of the church were erected by faculty in 1745,

The western portion of the south transept was
formerly fitted up as the Archdeacon's Court,
while the eastern was railed off as the Strangford
Aisle, but the whole was furnished with handsome
open seats and dedicated to the use of the
parishioners in i856.

In 1827 the aisles of the nave were widened in
order to supply additional accommodation, but the
original proportions of the church were restored
and 230 new sittings obtained by throwing out a
bay to the westward in i860. This work, which
has given general satisfaction, was executed from
the design of Joseph Clarke, Esq., diocesan
architect. The whole has been substantially
carried out in ragstone, even to the very cross on
the gable, and there is certainly no evidence on

The Church. 35

record of so extensive an use of this material as
ashlar since the extinction of our own Christian
architecture.

The great west window is universally admired,
both for the excellence of the stone-work and for
the quality of the stained glass with which it has
been Riled by Messrs. Lavers and Barraud. Each
of the ten compartments contains a scene in the
life of our Saviour. In the lower tier to the left
we have the Annunciation, followed by the Visit
of the Virgin to Elizabeth, the Visit of the Wise
Men, the Presentation of Christ in the Temple,
and the Flight into Egypt. In the first compart-
ment to the left of the upper tier is Christ among
the Doctors, succeeded by the Marriage in Cana,
the Crucifixion, the Burial, and Christ Risen.
Underneath the several compartments are the
following inscriptions — ** Elizabeth Greenhill, died
29 March, 1862, aged 91." — " William Whitfeld,
Chirurgus, obt. Aprilis 19, 1838, setat 68. Martha,
uxor ejus, obt. Aprilis 26, 1833, atat 51." —
" Abp. Sumner, died Sept. 6, 1862.**—** Richard
Greenhill, died March 14, 1829, aged 60 years." —
" Edward Watson Simonds, died March 6th, 1861,
aged 67." — "Charles Mercer, of Maidstone, for
15 years resident in this town, died March 15th,

36 History of Ashford.

1861, aged 40." "John Elliott, died Jan. loth, 1861,
aged 83. Harriott Elliott, died July 5th, 1822,
aged 36." — "Mark Dorman, died Jany. 12th, i860,
aged 76 years. Maiy Ann Dorman, died Feb. 22,
1853, aged 67 years."

The east window of the north chancel is filled
with stained glass by Willement, representing
St. Peter, St. James, and St. John, the three
Apostles selected by our Lord to be present with
Him on some of the more remarkable occasions of
His life. Under the figure of St. Peter (in the
centre) is the following inscription — "James Wall,
of this parish, died Feb. 20, 1852, aged 77 years."
Under St. James — " Hannah Startup, died April
13th, 1852, aged 66 years. Thomas Startup, died
Nov. 25, 1857, aged 75 years." Under St. John —
"Charles Dorman, died June 14th, 1854, &ged 8
years. Louisa Dorman, died April i6th, 1860,
aged 40."

The corresponding window of the south chancel,
also by Willement, contains the figures of St.
Paul and his two companions in travel, St. Barna-
bas and St. Luke. Under the central figure of St.
Paul are these words — " Revd. Thomas Wood, 21
years the resj)ected vicar of this parish, died Nov.
23, 1847, aged 78 years." Under St. Barnabas —

The Church. 37

"To Rev. J. P. Alcock, M.A., in grateful remem-
brance of his kind attention to Caroline Harrison^
who died in London, Aug. 28th, 1854." Under
St. Luke — " Memor amicitiae Mariae, Rev. W.
Curteis, M.A., viduae quas obt. anno set. 69,
A.D. 1853, banc fenestram omavit, Rev. J. P.
Alcock, M.A., bujus Eccl. Vic."

The window at the south-east corner of the
chancel was filled in 1865 with stained glass by
Lavers and Barraud, at the cost of the Vicar, as a
memorial to his younger daughter, who died 22nd
June, 1857, aged 18. The centre compartment
represents our Saviour blessing little children, that
to the left Christ the Good Shepherd, and that to
the right Jesus knocking at the door of the heart.
All three subjects are most effectively treated both .
as to colour and drawing.

The middle compartment of the corresponding
window on the opposite side commemorates John
Matson, 43 years organist of this church, who died
May 17, 1865, aged 70. The subject is King
David playing on the harp with the legend.

The Altar-piece, although unsuited to its position
in a Gothic edifice, and blocking up the lower por-
tion of the window behind it, is not without a
beauty of its own, being ornamented with leaves

Note. — The legend on the window in memory
of the late John Matson (page 27) is—

" Praise God in His sanctuary."— 150 Psalm i v.

38 History of Ash/ord^

and flowers finely carved in wood. It was erected
under circumstances of some interest. During the
troubled times of the Great Rebellion the old
altar was pulled down by the then churchwardens,
who were so proud of their exploit that they
caused their names, Joy Star and Wm. Worsley,
to be cut in stone and let into the chancel wall as
a memorial. This remained until the year 1695,
when the stone was taken down and the inscription
picked out with indignation, by Mr. Marsh, an
attorney of the town, and others.^ A subscription
was soon afterwards set on foot for the purpose of
re-building the Altar and Altar-piece, in order, as
the promoters expressed it, to "testify our sincerity
and due regard to ye order and decent appendices
of our church, and yt that place where peace and
.reconciliation are made between God and man may
no longer continue, as it is now to our shame, y^
place of brawls and contentious disputes of ye
parishioners." The sum raised amounted to £75,
including ;^5 55. od. from the Earl of Thanet,
£S 5^* oi* iTom the Dean and Chapter of Roches-
ter, and £10 from Sir George Wheler. About the
time this Altar- Piece was set up the cieling of the

* A portion of the stone, with some of the letters still
l^ble, lies on the exterior, near the chancel door.

The Chmch, 39

chancel, consisting of 80 panels (long since de-
stroyed) was painted in blue and gold. The Altar
chairs now in use were presented by Mrs. Whitfeld
Curteis.

In the High Chancel is a double row of stalls,
with the returns, of excellent design — some of
which are old, and the remainder " restored" in a
style to correspond. These stalls are of the kind
usual in collegiate churches, and were intended for
the use of the collegiate body. The seats, instead
of being fixed, turn upon hinges, and when turned
up exhibit on the under side a mass of carving-
fruit and foliage — the pelican " in her piety" — and
swine feeding on acorns. It seems, that out of
pity to the aged and infirm, who needed the
support afforded by the bracket, these seats were
turned up in those portions of the service in which
it was not allowable to sit. Hence seats of this
character received in France the name of
** misericordes," and ** patiences," while in Eng-
land they have been usually called " misereres."

The Reading-Desk, handsomely carved in an
appropriate style, was the gift, in 1855, of G. E,
Jemmett, Esq.

The interior of this Church is rendered very
striking by the number of pillars it contains, and,

40 History of Ashford.

especially, by the majestic columns supporting the
tower. The arrangement of the east end, with
chancel and transept aisles, which were, doubtless,
used as separate chapels, leads to the impression
that the earlier plan was based on a foreign
design — ap idea not at all improbable from the
proximity of Ashford to the Continent.

The Church offers several features to the notice
of the lover of antiquity — each of them shall be
treated of in order : —

I. The Atholl Brass. 2. The Founder's Tomb.
3. The Founder's Helmet. 4. The Smythe Monu-
ments. 5. An ancient Date.

z. In the middle chancel is a Brass, which
Weever says " presenteth the greatest glory and
antiquitie to this church." When complete it
represented a woman under a canopy, surmounted
by the Arms of England. She held in her right
hand a banner bearing the Arms of Atholl, and in
her left a banner with the Arms of Ferrers, while
four other Coats (one a cross impaling chevronels)
were placed beside the figure — ^two on each side.
The inscription, in old French, ran as follows : —
'Mcy gist Elisabeth ladye countesse D'Athels la
fille le Seignr de Ferrers q Dieu assoil qe le morust
le xxij jour d' Octobr Tan de gre 1375." *^ Here

The Church. 41

lies the Lady Elizabeth, Countess of Atholl,
daughter of the Lord Ferrers, whose sins God
forgive. She died the 22 day of October, in the
year of grace 1375." The recent investigations of
Mr. Herbert Smith identify her with Elizabeth,
daughter of Henry, Lord Ferrers, of Groby, and wife
of David Strabolgie, fourth and last Earl of Atholl.
.That gentleman writes — " Vincent's Pedigree gives
the date of the EarPs death as 1370, which affords
about five years* survivorship for his wife, during
which time she is described as having married
Malweyn, of Ashford. Had the Inquisitions
recorded the name as Malmain, or Valoignes, the
association would have appeared intelligible, the
Malmains having large property at Waldershare
and Pluckley, and the Valoignes great possessions
at Ashford, as also had the Fogges, with one of
whom, Thomas Fogge, Esq., of Ashford, she is
also associated, says Hasted, in a pedigree of
Bargrave*s, whom he therefore thinks might have
been a third husband. There is another pedigree
in the College of Arms, in which Malweyn is
given as a marriage previous to Atholl. We are
thus left to conjecture by which of her reputed
husbands she found her place in Ashford. That
she died there^ and had married John Malweyn, is

42 History of Ashford.

specifically stated in the Inquisition.^ The Brass
is now much mutilated — ^all the Coats but two are
gone, and of these two one has been misplaced.

2. The Tomb of Sir John Fogge, who may be
called the re-founder of the church, stands on the
north side of the Altar, between the chancel and
the Fogge chapeL It is still handsome, although
stripped of most of its original ornaments. These
consisted of brass effigies of himself and his two
wives, Alice CrioU and Alice Haute. " He waa
attired in rich plate armour, and decorated with
the Yorkist collar of suns and roses, with the white
lion of Marche attached. His head reclined on
his helmet, adorned with mantlings and crest.
At his feet sat an Italian greyhound. On either
hand lay his two wives. Their mantles were
fastened with roses ; at the feet of each crouched
a dog with knotted leading strings. On the south
side of the tomb, which was enriched by panelling'
of Gothic arches, were three shields of arms —
CrioU, Haute, and Valoignes impaling Fogge* On
the north side the centre ornament was an angel
supporting an inscription plate within an endless
circle, formed of rose sapling sticks firmly bound
together, perhaps to represent the stability of
family unity, the vitality of which is indicated by

The Church, 43

four small sprouts of rose branches with leaves and
blossoms. Four large bosses of the united Roses
proclaimed a Yorkist's acquiescence in the peace-
able conclusion of intestine commotion." The
plate bore the following inscription : —

** Plenius hie sequitur quid fecerat iste Johannes,
Sumptibus ex propriis hanc ecclesiam renovavit
Cum campanili quod funditus aedificavit
Pluribus atque libris Chorus hie per eum veneratur
Ac omamentis : Altare Dei decoratur
Vestibulum ditans et plura jocalia donans
Ut patet intuitu pro posteribus memoranda
Ad laudem Domini cui laus sit nunc et in aevum.

Amen."

Which may be thus translated : —

Here follows more at large what things this John had done ;

At his own charge this Church he hath restored

Along with the Bell-Tower, which from the foundation he hath
reajed.

Here through him the Choir with many a Book and Ornament

Adores : the Altar of God he decorates,

Enriching the entrance thereto and many gems bestowing there-
upon

(As it is clearly to be seen) for after ages to be told of,

To the glory of the Lord, to whom be praise both now and
evermore. Amen.

Aa inscription round the margin of the slab, of

which only a part remained in 1631, ^^ Edwardi

quarti cegis. specialis Amator, semper CathoUcu9>

44 History of Ashford.

Populi vulgaris, amicus, et sic decedens a mundo

mente ,*' completed the memorial. The head

of Sir John Fogge and the inscription plate are the

only portions of hrass which now remain. The

tomh was formeriy surmounted hy a carved canopy

of wood, which, being greatly decayed, was

removed in 1697.

In the vault under this monument it is said that

twenty members of this family have been buried.

*' However," writes Warren, "when it was opened

about thirty years ago to deposit ye body of one

Mr. Naylor there, according to ye account which I

have had from those yt descended into ye vault out

of curiosity, which is common at such a time, when

it had not been opened in the memory of men then

living, it appeared yt ye bodies of all those yt had

been there deposited were shrunk into a very

narrow compass.

" Mors sola fktetur,
" Quantula sint homin ium coipuscula.*'

Small pieces of bones, and small pieces of coffins*
an old sword and a pair of spurs, and not much
dust, appearing at their entering into it." Weever
says of this Church that "there hang in the Quire
the Achievements of sixe of that ancient and noble
familie that have had their funeral obsequies

The Church. 45

attended with Heralds of Armes** and the irons to
which the banners, &c., were fastened yet remain.

3. On the North wall of the Repton or Fogge
Chancel hangs a tilting Helmet — interesting as
having belonged to Sir John Fogge — whose tomb
has just been described — ^the munificent renovator
of the Church and founder of the College — and
remarkable both for its size and for a circular
aperture on the side, which was probably intended
for the purpose of hearing as the Helmet is sup-
plied with the usual means of ventilation. It
weighs 23tb. 150;?.

4. The South Transept contains three very hand-
some monuments of the Jacobean age, erected to
memory of several members of the Smythe family,
formerly Lords of the Manor of Ashford.

The first commemorates Thomas Smith, Esq.,
of Westenhanger, who died 7th June, 159 1, having
had six sons and six daughters by his wife, Alice,
heiress of Sir Andrew Judde. He was a man of
immense wealth, and usually called ''Customer
Smith,** from his having farmed the customs of
the port of London.

The second is a memorial to his son, Sir John
Smythe, of Westenhanger, Knight, and Elizabeth,
his wife, sole heiress of John Fineux, Esq., of

46 History of Askford.

Heme. " They lived married together about 30
years, and had issue 2 sons and 6 daughters,
whereof three only survived them, whose por-
traitures are here presented, viz., Tho. Smythe,
his Sonne and heyer; Catherine, married to Sir
Harry Baker, of Sissinghurst ; and Elizabeth,
maryed to Sir Harry Nevell, ye younger, of
Billingbeare, in the County of Barck, Knight."
Sir John was sheriff of Kent in 1600, and died in
1609.

The third is erected to the memory of Sir
Richard Smythe, Knight, of Leeds Castle, fourth
son of the above-mentioned Thomas Smith, Esq.,
of Westenhanger. Sir Richard was Receiver of
the Duchy of Cornwall, and Surveyor General and
Commissioner for the revenues assigned to Prince
Charles, afterwards Charles I. He was, according
to his epitaph, << a just officer in his accounts,
which he perfected with much contentment where
he was trusted. His love to his wives, children,
and friends, was extraordinary, and he tenderly
did respect them. His bounty to the poor was
very great." He died 21 July, 1628, aged 63,
having been thrice married, and each time to a
widow. By the first, a daughter of Sir John Scott,
of Scott*s Hall, he had an only son and two

X

The Church. 47

daughters. By the second a daughter, Mary; and
by the third, who survived him, a daughter,
Margaret. On all these monuments lie the
recumbent figures of those whom they commem-
orate, with .their various armorial bearings duly
blazoned. It will be observed that in some
instances the children on the side of the tombs
are represented with a skull in their hands. This
denotes that they died before their parents. In
the same transept is a window filled with the coats
o( arms of the Smythe family, painted in 1834, at
the cost of their representative, Percy Sydney,
sixth Viscount Strangford, celebrated for his
literary attainments, ambassador to Portugal,
Brazil, Sweden, Turkey, and Russia, who died in
1855, and is here buried. Under the window is a
brass plate to commemorate Ellen, daughter of
Sir Thomas Burke, Bart., of Marble Hill, county
Galway, and wife of the above Viscount Strang-
ford. She died at St. Petersburg, 22 May, 1826,
aged 37. The plate also mentions the Hon.
Lionel Sydney Smythe, her second son, who died
in 1834, at the age of 13, and is interred in the
same vault with his father.

5. On a beam, running from the north-east
comer of the Tower to the north Transept, is a

48 History of Ashford.

date, of which the following notice is given in a
paper read at the meeting of the Royal Society^
June 7th, 1744 — " I shall only beg leave to com-
municate the copies of two ancient dates in Arabian
figures, which were imparted to me by the Rev,
Dr. Wm. Warren, sen., Fellow of Trinity Hall, in
Cambridge, they were both taken by himself, and
are of the same size with the originals. One is
cut on a beam, running from the north-east comer
of the steeple to the school in church of Ashford^
Kent, and expresses the date 1292, and the other
is cut in a house at Cambridge, called the Half-
Moon, near Magdalen College, and denotes the
year 1332. The figures of both are very rude,
agreeable to those times, being the oldest I have
yet met with, except those at Helmdon.*' Hasted
is of opinion that the figures represent a much
later date, though one anterior to the renovation of
the Church by Sir John Fogge. But Thomas
Wright, Esq., F.S.A., in a paper on the ''Antiquity
of Dates expressed in Arabic Numerals," in Vol II
of the Journal of the British Archaeological Associ-
ation, appears to prove, pretty conclusively, that
1592 is the true reading.

In the North Transept a complete set of Brasses
once existed, representing Thomas Fogge, Esq.,

The Church. 49

in full armouF) and Eleanor, his wife, with two
children, and four shields of arms, viz., Fogge,
Fogge impaling Browne, Woodville and Fogge im-
paling Haute, and Browne quarterly with Fitzalan.
From the lips of the two principal figures issued
the legend ** Pater de coelis, Deus, miserere nobis "
— "Spiritus Sancta, Deus, miserere nobis," while
the following inscription was placed beneath ** Here
under this stone lyeth the bodyes of Thoms Fogg,
Esquyer, lately Sergeant Porter unto the most
famous princes Kings Henry the VII and the VIII
and Eleanr his wyf. The whiche Thomas deceased
the xvi day of August ye year of our Lord McVc XII
and Elinor deceased the day of the yea^ of
or Lord Mc Vc on whose soules I H V have

mcy." He was the son of Sir John Fogge, the
renovator of the church, by his second wife, Alice
Haute. His wife was a daughter of Sir Robert
Browne, and re-marrying Sir Wm. Kempe, of
Ollahtigh, was doubtless buried with him at Wye,
which explains why the date of her death above
was never filled up. Both figures are missing,
but the children, and the legends with the inscrip-
tion, remain.

In this — the north — transept ^yas formerly, write s
Mr. Smith, " a representation of Sir John Fogge,

so History of Ashford,

in the coloured glass of a memorial window. He
is kneeling at his devotions, in full armour, covered
by a tabard of his arms, Fogge quarterly with
Valoignes. Before him lies an open missal upon a
table covered by a cloth diapered with roses. At
the side is the representation of a Church, the
badge of a builder or founder. This window was
probably executed in the later years of Edward IV."

Weever, speaking of this church, says *' Here
are many goodly portraitures in the windows." In
the great west window was the figure of Edward
III. Probably in other windows were Richard
Home, Sir John Peche, Roger Manstone, Guilde-
ford, the Black Prince, Richard Duke of Gloucester
afterwards Richard III, Lord Hastings, Sir
William Haute, Lord Scales, Richard Earl Rivers,
and Jacquetta Duchess of Bedford — all in coat-
armour, excepting, of course, the last. These
portraitures had all disappeared in 17 12.

Until the alterations in 1861, the great west
window contained some fragments of stained glass
which have since been preserved at the College.
The two squares so preserved are evidently fac-
similes. The more perfect I have been able to put
together. It is a head surrounded by a nimbus.

Hasted says that <*in the south window of the

The Church. 51

cross isle of this church was once the figure of a
Valoignes, habited in his surcoat of arms argent,
three Pales wavy gules, with his spurs on, kneeling
at an altar, and opposite to him, in the same
attitude, two women, in their surcoats of arms
likewise, on the first those of Haute, on the
second, Fogge." On the same authority we learn
that Sir John Goldstone, parson of Ivychurch, by
his will, proved in 1503, desired to be buried in the
choir of this church, and devised sundry costly
ornaments and vestments for the use of it, and to
him probably belongs the fragment of a " brass,**
representing the head and shoulders of an eccle-
siastic, now lying in the parish chest.

The Rood Staircase still remains in the south
transept, but the screen is gone, with the exception
of some fragments of carving to be seen on the
pews under the tower.

William de Sodington, rector of this church,
had licence, 13439 to found a perpetual chantry in
the chapel of St. Mary in this church, which he
endowed with lands lying in this parish, Kenning-
ton, Willesborough, and Charing. It was sup-
pressed in the first year of Edward VI.

The visitor will observe several tablets commem-
orating the Norwoods, Whitfelds, Husseys,

52 History of Ashford,

Jemmetts — families of long standing in the town.
When Warren wrote, in 1712, the following in-
scriptions, among others, were to he found in the
church, and some of them, doubtless, are yet in
existence, though covered by the pewing : —

* "Nobilis hie Miles Stephanus Valans tumulatur

Cujiis nunc anima vestris prccibus capiatur."
** Here is buried the noble knight Stephen Valans,
whose soul should now enjoy the benefit of your
prayers.'* As neither date nor armorial bearings
then remained on the stone, which almost adjoined
the Countess of AtholPs, we can only conjecture
the owner. Stephen de Valoyns was a Knight of
the Shire, 1373, and is probably the person in-
tended, but there was also a Sir Stephen de
Valence, whose daughter and heir was the wife of
Sir Thomas Fogge, who died in 1407.

" Here lieth the body of the ffaithful servant of
Christ, late painfull and loving Pastor of this
congregation, Mr. James Wallis, who departed this
life, Nov. 30, 1622, being of age 55 years. And
Mr. Henry Wallis, son of Mr. John and Joanna
Wallis, who lived a godly, prudent, just, and
usefull man, and dyed muth lamented, Sept. 3,
1666, aged 46 years, is here interred in his ffather's
grave."

The Church* 53

" Here lyeth buried Mary Knatchbull, daughter
to Mr. Richard Knatchbull, Esquire, who deceased
in ye 25 yeare of her age, A.D. 1643."

" Here lyeth ye Body of Martha Lake, widdow
of John Lake, late of Borden, who dyed June ye
26th, 1680, aged 59 years.

" Quae Pia, Quae Prudens, Quae Provida, Pulchra foisti
Uxor amans, nato Martha, Maria Deo."

"To ye memory of John Nower, of Ashford,
Gent., who when he lived was ye ornament of that
Town, now ye Sorrow. Hee had by Mary his wife
Three sons and one daughter, married to Edward
Master, Esq. He dyed Aug. 26, 1667, in ye 47th
yeare of his age. His sorrowfull widow put this
as a memorial to them y* come after."

"George Toke, Gent, dyed May 20, i;7i2, aged
35, and is here interred. He left issue by his .wife
Elizabeth 2 sons and 3 daughters.*'

[He was nephew to Sir Nicolas Toke, Kt.]

** Here lye ye Bodies of Jane, ye wife of James
Walter, sometime Practicioner of Phisick in this
Towne, a Gentlewoman lyneallie descended of a
very auntient stock and ffamilie called Harlackenden.
And of Elizabeth, ye wife of James May, Gent.
Both of them were barren and brought forth noe
children naturallie. But brought forth many

54 History of Ashford.

spirituUie unto Christ. The said Eliza, dyed ye
13th of December, 1622, after shee had lived with
her Husband 30 yeres, 2 months, and 15 days,
beinge aged 53 yeres, one month and ffive dayes.

Ja : May Pi» et dilectissimse Uxori

O sweete companion of my youth and middle age likewise,
Yea and of oiilde age creepinge on as yeres they did aiise^
Untill yt God by his decree before thou erst wast made
Did to Himselfe thy soule upp take from Corps wch long did

fade.
Thou hadst to Christ a Godlie life. His Truth thou didst hold

fast.
Now then with Christ in heaven thou art, in joyes wch aye shall

last
My soule doth long full sore to goe into that joye and blisses
Ffor why ? Through Christ my Saviour of life I shall not misse."

There is also a memorial for Henry Dering,
Gent., of Shelve, who died in 1752, and Hester,
his wife.

The Font is of stone, and on four sides of the
octagon had a Coat of Arms, of which that of the
Fogges alone remains.

Two old chests stand near the Chancel door —
one of them is ornamented with linen-pattern
panelling.

On the exterior of the church, under the great
east window, is a mutilated figure of the Virgin,

The Church. 55

and above the western door are the arms of Sir
John Fogge, and of Archbishop Sumner.

The church of Ashford was formerly part of the
possessions of Horton Priory, but it belonged in
the time of Edward III. to the Priory of Leeds ;
and at the Dissolution under Henry VIII. passed,
with the advowson of the vicarage, into the hands
of the Crown. It appears by the King's Bailiffs
accounts at the Augtn. office, from the 31st to the
32nd year of Henry VIIL, that this rectory, with
its houses, lands, and appurtenances, and the
tythes of com and hay, with other profits belonging
to it, (the advowson of the vicarage, and all woods
and underwoods growing on the same excepted
and reserved) was then in the tenure of Thomas
Moyle, for 50 years, at the yeairly rent of ;f 12. In
1 54 1 the King settled both rectory and vicarage on
the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. On the
abolition of Deans and Chapters under the Com-
monwealth this parsonage was surveyed in 1649,
by order of the State, for the purpose, of sale,
when it was returned that it consisted of the tythes,
a bam, and 24 acres of land, the whole of the im-
proved rent of £y2 per ann., let on lease to Francis
Finch, for 21 years from 1640, at £"12, the lessee

56 History of Ashford.

being bpund to repair the chancel of the church.
The Dean and Chapter of Rochester have been,
since the Restoration, the Impropriators of the
rectory, and patrons of the vicarage. The rectorial
tithes (leased to Admiral Marsham and Captain
Styles) have been commuted at ;^2i8, and the
vicarial at ;^478. Eleven acres of glebe belong to
the vicarage and twenty-six to the rectory.

This vicarage is valued in the King's books at
£^% 4s. 2d., and the yearly tenths at £1 i6s.^d.
In 1640 it was valued at ;^ioo. Communicants,
630. In 1649 it was valued at only ;^50.

Vicars of Ashford, 57

VICARS OF ASHFORD.

1. Solomon Russell, in 1383. He is mentioned
as such in a deed of that date, and in another of
1370 as rector of Goudhurst.

2. Thomas Wilmote, in 1467. He was ap-
pointed first master of the College, and is men-
tioned in the deed of confirmation to it, 1481. He
died in 14939 and willed to be buried in St. Nicholas
chapel in this church.

3. William Sutton, D.D., 1493. ^^^^ 1496.

4. Hugh Hope, in 1503.

5. Richard Parkhurst, in 1535. Mentioned
hereafter in the account of the College.

6. John Poynet, D.D. He was bom in Kent,
and finished his education at Queen's College,
Cambridge. He is said to have been a man of
learning, skilled in languages, and an excellent
mathematician. " He presented," says Fuller,
" Henry VHI. with a horologium, which I might

58 History of Ashford,

English, dial, clock, or watch, observing the
shadow of the sun, and therein showing not only
the hours, but dayes of the month, change of the
moon, ebbing and flowing of the sea." By Arch-
bishop Cranmer he was frequently consulted on
religious subjects. In 1550, chiefly in conse-
quence of his great ability as a preacher, he was
consecrated Bishop of Rochester, at the early age
of 35. About the time of his promotion an Order
of Council was issued that no Bishop should for the
future hold any other benefice '' in commendam,"
but he was excepted from the order in consequence
of his having no episcopal palace, and received a
licence to hold the vicarage of Ashford with his
bishopric, as well as a prebend in Canterbury
Cathedral, and the rectories of Towyn, in Merion-
ethshire, and St. Michael's, Crooked-lane, London.
Poynet was translated to Winchester in 1551, when
he resigned this living. On the accession of Mary
he quitted England, and died at Strasburgh, in
1558. Shortly before his death he published a
work, reprinted in 1642, and entitled "A short
Treatise of Politiqiie Power and the true obedience
which subjects owe to Kings and other civil gov-
ernors, being an answer to seven questions,'*
which in the opinion of so competent a judge as

Vicars of Ashford. 59

Mr. Hallani '*is closely and vigorously written,
and deserves in many paits a high place among
the English prose of that age, though not entirely
free from the usual fault — ^vulgar and ribaldrous
invective. He determines all the questions stated
oh the title-page on principles adverse to royal
power, and proceeds in a strain of some eloquence
to extol the ancient tyrannicides, accounting the
first nobility to have been those who had revenged
and delivered the oppressed people out of the
hands of their governors.*' Curious doctrine this
from a sixteenth century Bishop.

7. John Fuller, 1565. Thomas Fuller, yeoman,
of Ashford, patron for this turn.

8. Thomas Pett, 1571.

9. Oeorge Kersleke, 1579. Richard Rogers,
Sufifragan Bishop of Dover, presented for this turn
by licence from the Dean and Chapter of Rochester.

10. Joseph Minge, B.A., 1581. He was one of
the Puritan clergy who refused to subscribe to
Archbishop Whitgift*s articles in 1583.

iz. John Holland, B.A., 15^4.
12* Thomas Poulter, M.A., 1594.

13. John Wallis, 1602.

14. Edmund Hayes, M.A., 1622.

15. John Maccuby, M.A., 1638. In his time

6o History of Ashford.

there were great confusions in Church and State,
and being a Royalist he was ejected.

i6. Joseph Boden, 1643. A Presb3^erian. "He
set up the first letters of his own and his wife's
name together with the date of the year when it
was done, I.K.B., 1644. This is still remaining
under the great window of the College." — ^Warren.

17. Nicholas Prigg. Also a Presb3rterian, or
Independent, and ejected in 1662. A nonconform-
ist writer states that he was a man of eminent
talents, and celebrated as a preacher. Having
married a Mrs. Scott, with her property he pur-
chased an estate, on which they lived after his
ejectment. He became melancholy so as not to
be able to preach, but he improved in his state
of mind, and died in comfort. His admirers
erected a meeting house in St. John's Lane, and
the congregation now attending the Congregational
chapel claim to be their representatives.

18. Richard Whitlock, L.L.B., 1662. This Mr.
Whitlock was a man of wit and learning and a
strenuous upholder of church principles. " I have
heard," says Warren, " that there were unhappy
differences between him and his parishioners, and
indeed several of those sentences which he wrote
upon the glass-windows in the College do plainly

Vicars of Ashford. 6r

enough intimate as much. There are other sen-
tences that do not so 'much look that way, but
seem designed as hints to the reader to be retained
in mind on the common occasions of life."

ig. Thomas Rysden, M.A., 1667. " He was
minister in Bread Street, London, and burnt out of
his habitation by the great fire." It is believed
that he is the same person who was the early
friend of the renowned Jeremy Taylor, and the
means (in consequence of an invitation he gave
him to preach for him at St. Paul's) of introducing
the future Bishop to the notice of Laud.

20. Samuel Warren, B.A., 1673. He was the
son of the Rev. John Warren, afterwards of Hemel
Hempstead, and bom at Chipping Camden, in
1637. Having entered as a commoner at Trinity
College, Oxford, and subsequently removed to St.
Albania Hall, he took the degree of B.A., and in
1662 was admitted into holy orders by Dr. Skinner,
Bishop of Oxford. His first preferment was at
Preston, near Brighton. Through the interest of
his old friend Archbishop Lamplugh, then Dean of
Rochester, he was presented in 1673 to the
vicarage of Ashford. In 1683, Archbishop San-
croft, unasked, appointed him to the rectory of
Blackmanstone, in Romney Marsh. He marride

62 History of Ashford,

Sarah, youngest daughter of the Rev. John
Stafford, rector of Lurgershall, in Sussex. She
died in childbirth, 20 Sep., 1687, aged 40. Mr.
Warren, who (if his epitaph be not more than
commonly mendacious) must have been a veiy
worthy character, died 16 March, 1721, aged 83,
having been vicar 48 years, and is buried in the
chancel, where a slab, bearing the arms of
Warren impaling Stafford, and a long inscription
in Latin, still remains to his memory.

21. John Clough, M.A., 172 1. Also rector of
Monk's Horton.

22. Charles Coldcall, M.A., 1765, and canon of
Rochester. He resigned this vicarage for that of
Aylesford, and Aylesford in 1782 for the rectory of
Kingsdown, near Wrotham, holding also the
vicarage of Ashbumham, in Sussex.

23. James Andrew, D.D., 1765. A canon of
Rochester. He died March, I79i» and was buried
in the south transept of this church, having, in
17749 resigned this living to his son-in-law and
nephew —

24. James Bond, M.A., 1774. He was also
perpetual curate of Bilsington, and dying at the
age of 77, in 1826, was buried in this church.

25. Thomas Wood, 1826. He was of northern

Vicars of Ashford, 63

extraction, and having been tutor to the Earl of
Romney, obtained this benefice through Canon
Marsham. Mr. Wood was much respected for
the kindness of his heart and suavity of his
manners. He was buried at the entrance to the
chancel.

26. John Price Alcock, M.A., 1847. Of St.
John's College, Cambridge — successively curate of
Otford, minor canon of Rochester, and vicar of
Strood. Rural dean of East Charing, 1848. A
six-preacher in Canterbury Cathedral, 1858. Hon.
canon of Canterbury, 1866.

64 History of Ashford.

THE COLLEGE.

The College, now the vicarage house, stands on
the south-east side of the churchyard.

Sir John Fogge, of Repton, the munificent
benefactor to the church, founded a college at
Ashford, in the reign of Edward IV., 1460- 1483.
It consisted of a master (the vicar for the time
being), two chaplains, and two secular clerks, who
were to celebrate divine service in the church, for
the welfare of the King, George Archbishop of
York, Sir John Fogge, and Alice his wife, during
their lives, and after their death for the benefit of
their souls, and of those of certain of the King's
subjects, belonging to the county of Kent, slain in
defence of his title at the battles of Northampton,
St. Albans, and Shirbome. Sir John obtained
from the King sufficient lands in Kent, Essex, and
Sussex, for the support of his establishment, and
bestowed upon it books, jewels, and other oma-

The College, 65

ments, all of whicl\ Edward confirmed, in 1467, to
Thomas Wilmote, vicar of Ashford, and his
successors, in pure and perpetual alms for the
purposes above mentioned. The death of the
King, however, and the misfortunes of the founder
in the succeeding reign, prevented the completion
of the design : and the college appears to have
been dissolved in the time of Henry VII., or
Henry VIII.

The college itself was of " black and white,"
and formerly occupied three sides of a quad-
rangle, with a gateway and porter's lodge leading
to the churchyard. What is now the kitchen was
the hall. It has a handsome chimney-piece of
stone, and was cieled with oak or chesnut, the
windows being filled with branches of trees and
figures of birds and beasts, in painted glass. The
large window looking into the court contained
seven coats of arms, viz., those of the Royal
Family, Criolls, Scotts, Fogge impaling Hawte,
Cardinal Pole, and two that could not be iden-
tified, most of which remained until about fifty
years ago.

According to Warren's account, the parlour,
situated in the wing now taken down, had a large
quantity of painted glass of an interesting

66 History of Ashford,

character. In the east window were roses, pome-
granates, and branches — ^the badges of Queen
Mary, who while Princess used a red and white
rose and a pomegranate, knit together, to show her
descent from the Houses of York, Lancaster, and
Spain. But the most noticeable feature in this
window was eight coats of arms painted in a
line : —

1. Fogge. Argent, on a fess between three
annulets sable, as many mullets of the first
pierced with this inscription, ** Jhoes Fogge Senior,
Miles."

2. Scott. Argent, three Catherine wheels sable,
within a bordure ingrailed gules, ** Syr Wyliam
Scott."

3. Poynings. Quarterly, first and fourth, Barry
of six or and vert, over all a bend gules : second,
gules, three lioncels passant, guardant, langued,
in pale, argent : over all a bend azure : third, or,
three piles meeting in base, azure. ** Syr Edward
Ponynge."

4. Royal Arms. Insigned with the crown and
supported b^ the dragon and greyhound. Quarterly,
first and fourth, Jupiter, three fleurs de lis, 50/:
second and third. Mars, three lions passant,
guardant, in pale, soL

The College, 67

5/ Archbishop Warham. The See of Canter-
bury, Jupiter, a staff in pale sol, and thereupon a
a cross patee, Luna, surmounted with a pale of
the last, charged with three like crosses Saturn,
fringed as the second, impaling Warham, gules, a
fess or, between a goat's head in chief, and three
escallops in base, argent. Under it, "Wilhelms
Waram Cantuaris Archipiscopus," and over it,
" Auxilium meum a Domino."

6. Dr. White, confessor to Sir John Fogge.
Argent f a chevron gules, differenced with a trefoil
slipt or, between three boars* heads couped of the
second, armed of the third. "Jhoes Whyte,
Sacre theologie doctor."

7. Darrell. Azure, a lion rampant or, crowned
argent (quaere) charged on the shoulder with a
trefoil slipt of the third. " Syr Jamys darell."

8. Engham. Argent, a lion passant, langued,
gules. The other part of the coat broken and
gone when Warren wrote. **Jhoes Engham
armiger."

In the south window of the same parlour,
looking into the court, were the figures of our
Saviour and the twelve Apostles. " But this was
broken all to pieces in the times of the great
rebellion in King Charles' reign, when some people

68 History of Ashford.

pretended a horrible dread of superstition, but
were not afraid of rebellion and even regicide."
This room was wainscotted, and bad the letters
R.P. carved on one of the beams.

On the wall of the middle chamber, that, I
suppose, over the hall, or present kitchen, were
painted two coats of arms : —

1. Gules. Two swords argent, in saltire, points
upwards; impaling gules^ three wheat-sheaves
argent, both within a bordure ingrailed sable.

2. The Arms of the See of Canterbury impaling
gules, three wheat-sheaves argent and insigned
with a Cardinal's Hat. ** This I suppose was
Cardinal Kemp's and I believe the wheat-sheaves
in this as well as the other escutcheon were some
time or other whited over by some unskilful person
that would be mending what he thought amiss."

The window of the same room, which looked
towards the garden, contained a Rebus in painted
glass. On the top of a hill, in a park 5 or 6 inches
wide, was the letter R, while lower down among
some trees was a dog running at a stag, who stood
at bay under the pales. On the outside under the
park gate were the letters H.V.R.S.T. Round
the park on a circle was the motto << Veritas
liberabit."

The College. 69

Richard Parkhurst, whose, of course, was the
above device, was certainly master of the College
in 1 54 1, in which year Alice, widow of William
LfOvelace, Esq., of Bethersden, bequeathed '^ to the
Right WorshippfuU Maister Parkhurst, Maister of
the College at Ashford, 6 henns, a capon and a
cokk.'* He was also Vicar, like his predecessors.
In the foundation charter he was nominated to be
the first Canon of the fourth Prebend in Canter-
bury Cathedral, to which he was installed in 1542.
He died in 1558.

Nor was this all the treasure of ornamental
glass possessed in old time by the college. In the
window looking towards Kingsnorth in the great
south chamber was a white rose, surrounded by
the motto " Dieu et mon droit," (while 19 roses of
the same colour adorned the cieling) and four
coats of arms : — i. Royal Arms. 2. Abp. Warham.
3. Magdalen College, Oxford, with garter and
motto ; and, 4, a coat, thus described by Warren :
" Quarterly. The first grand quarter is quarterly,
ist and 4th azure, three fieurs de lis vert; 2nd and
3rd guleSf three lions passant, guardant, in pale.
The second grand quarter is or, sl cross gules. The
third grand quarter is as the second. The fourth
grand quarter azure, three bars vert, on the two

70 History of Ashford,

first a plate, four pallets in the chief part of the
escutcheon of the second, (quaere) round all * Dieu
et mon droit.' " " There is also," he adds,
** under the third escutcheon in the hall, a small
coat of arms, not quite an inch either in breadth
or length, on the breast of a bird with her wings
expanded, viz., the field — a chevron ingrailed
between three pellets sable,'*

About 90 years ago, the college having become
dilapidated, the then vicar took down the north
wing and the porter's lodge, and modernised the
south wing, in which the principal rooms are now
situated. Much of the old woodwork was, however,
preserved — the original oak-screen of the hall still
remaining and the present dining-room being
ornamented with the linen-pattern panelling placed
probably in the parlour already referred to about the
reign of Henry VIII. or Mary. This room also
contains the letters R.P. connected by a knot and
a rose carved in oak.

In the garden is an avenue of limes (which
forms in summer a short but delightful walk) and
a remarkably fine acacia, as well as some good
specimens of the ilex or evergreen oak.

The Grammar School. 71

THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

The Grammar School lies on the north-west side
of the churchyard. It was founded in 1635, by
the eminent scholar and critic, Sir Norton Knatch-
bull, Bart., of Mersham Hatch, in accordance with
the wishes of his uncle and predecessor of the
same name, and endowed with the then adequate
stipend of £^0 per annum payable from lands in
Newchurch. The appointment of the master, who
must always be a master of arts at the least, is
vested in the family. The owner of Mersham
Hatch, the Commissary having ordinary jurisdic-
tion in the Parish of Ashford, the Vicar of Ash-
ford, the Rector of Aldington, the Rector of
Mersham, and the Rector of Great Chart, for the
time being, are the visitors. They may visit
annually or oftener as there is occasion. If the
master be notoriously faulty, they are gently to
admonish him, and if on three several admonitions
he does not amend, the patron is to displace him

72 History of Ashford.

and nominate a successor. It is specified among
other regulations for the government of the school,
that that grammar is to he used which is allowed
by the King's Majesty, that prayers selected from
the liturgy are to be read daily, that the scholars
are to be weekly instructed in the church cate-
chism, and to attend divine service in the parish
church on Sundays and holy days, and there to
behave quietly and attentively. "The school
room," says Warren, " is 42 feet in length and 20
feet 5 inches in breadth. The building is of brick.
It has a chimney for fire for the scholars, and a
convenient study joyning to the school for the
master, and a little yard on the south side, which
is now a garden. On ye door entering into ye school
is this date A.D.1636. On the outside of ye school
is this date, 1635, in which year the school was
built. On ye top of ye school is a turret with a
bell in it : on ye turret is this date, 1681 : on ye
top of ye turret a fane or weathercock with the
Knatchbull Arms painted on it. In the first
master's time the school was wainscotted. On the
portal at ye entrance into ye school are these
letters, B.P. E.P. At ye upper end of ye school
over the master's seat are the arms of the Knatch-
bulls — Azure, three cross crosslets fitchee between

The Grammar School. 73

two bendlets or. About the year 1711 the old
forms and tables which were formerly made use of
by the scholars were converted into desks and
seats on all sides of the school. On the wall at
the upper end of the school are these sentences in
Greek :

* Make God the Beginning and the End of All,
Do this and thou shalt blessed be. '

«

On ye outside of yc school near ye top towards ye
east are these words :

* Benefactomm Recordatio Jucundissima est' "

In 17 15 a school library was established, at the
suggestion of Mr. Grove, Fellow of St. John's and
Registrar of the University of Cambridge, but the
books have long since disappeared.

During the mastership of Mr. Barrett certain
gentlemen of the town formed a company for the
purchase of the house in the High Street in
which the master now resides. Eight shares out
of fifteen were the property of Mr. Barrett, and
given by him on his first resignation to the master
for the time being, and the owners of the remain-
ing seven and their heirs having suffered their
interest to lapse, the whole is now practically the
master's freehold.

Under Mr. Barrett this school enjoyed a great

74 History of Ashford.

reputation, and he was so fortunate, during his
tenure of office, as to amass considerable property,
which descended, through his only child, to the
Curteis family.

The following is a list of the masters of the
Grammar School :

I. Rev. Baptist Pigott, M.A. He was son of
Baptist Pigott, of Dartford, and married, first, the
daughter of Henry Stacy, gent., of Ash, and
widow of Rev. George Symons, by whom he had
two sons. Baptist and Gervase, and two daughters,
Helen and Mary. He married, secondly, Jane,
daughter of John Spencer, Esq., of Faversham,
and by her had two sons, Spencer and Edward,
and four daughters, Frances, Elizabeth, Jane, and
Anna. Having been master upwards of 20 years
he died, aged 70, in 1657, and was buried in the
south transept of this church. The inscription on
his grave-stone intimates that the town was
** ungrateful" for his labours.

2. Rev. Simon Howe, M.A., 1657. He was son
of Mr. Simon Howe, of Petersham, in Surrey, and
married, in the year he came to Ashford, Mary,
daughter of Mr. Thomas Wilson, of Maidstone —
probably the famous Puritan incumbent of Otham.

The Grammar School. 75

Mr. Howe seems to have been Rector of Seving-
ton, which he resigned in i668.

3. Rev. Strangford Viol, M.A. He married first,
in 1674, Mary Carter, of Ashford, a member of
the family now seated at Kennington Hall; and
secondly, in 1685, Jane, daughter of Richard
Fogge, Esq., of Dane Court, the representative of
Sir John Fogge, of Repton, by whom he left a
daughter, Jane, married to Edward Jacob, Esq., of
Canterbury. He resigned 1679, became vicar of
Upminster, Essex, and was buried at Crundall.

4. John Drake, M.A. He was born at Wood-
stock, and educated at All Souls' College, Oxford,
and at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Having
been master 33 years, he died at Charing, on
Trinity Sunday, June 15th, 1712, " was brought to
Ashford on the Tuesday following, and, being
attended by his scholars and many others, was
buried in this church," aged about 60.

5. Richard Bate, M.A. The only son of the
Rev. Stephen Bate, rector of Horsemonden. He
was educated at Westminster school, from which
he proceeded to Trinity College, Cambridge, and
afterwards became Fellow of Peter-house. He
died in 1749.

6. Rev. Stephen Barrett, M.A., 1749- 1764.

76 History 0/ Ashford.

7. William Hodson, M.A., 1764-1766.

8. Rev. Stephen Barrett, M.A., 1766, for the
second time. He resigned in 1773, on being
presented to the rectory of Hothfield. His only
daughter, Mary, married Jeremiah Curteis, Esq.,
of Windmill Hill, M.P. for Sussex.

9. Rev. Charles Stoddart, M.A. He was also
rector of Newchurch, and dying in 1812 was
buried in this church. His daughters, the Misses
Stoddart, one of whom survives, deserve to be
remembered for the great kindness with which
during a long period they attended to the wants of
the poor of Ashford.

10. Rev. John Nance, D.D. He was the son of
the Rev. William Nance, rector of Great Chart,
by a daughter of the Rev. Dr. Andrew, canon of
Rochester and vicar of Ashford, and married his
cousin, the daughter of the Rev. James Bond.
Dr. Nance was many years curate of Ashford, and
afterwards rector of Old Romney, where he died
in 1853, having resigned the mastership in 1832.
He published several sermons.

11. Ephraim Hemmings Snoad, M.A. He was
of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and, having
been master 24 years, died in 1856, and was
buried at Brenzett.

The Grammar School. 77

12. Rev. Robert Henry Wright, M.A. He was
of Trinity College, Cambridge — was two years
curate of Ashford, and the author of a work
on Tri-linear Co-ordinates and of other books on
mathematical subjects, which commanded a con-
siderable sale. Mr. Wright died i8th Sept., 1867,
aged 58. His funeral, which took place at the
Cemetery, was attended by several of the local
clergy anxious to testify their respect for a kind-
hearted and most obliging neighbour.

13. Francis A. Dewe, M.A., of Caius College,
Cambridge, son of Rev. Samuel Dewe, rector of
Kingsdown, near Wrotham.

78 History of Askford,

THE REGISTERS.

The Ashford Registers begin with the year 1570,
and are in a good state of preservation. A fe>v
extracts from them are subjoined, to which I have
prefixed some entries made by Mr. Warren rather
for the information of his successors than from
their connection with the legitimate objects of the
Register.

" Memorandum. That in the year 1674 and
1675 the wood commonly called Lodge- wood, lying
in this parish of Ashford, belonging to the Eari of
Thanet, was felled, and tithe was paid to me,
Samuel Warren, then vicar. There was a tryall
about it at Maidstone assizes, in the year 1677, in
Lent."

" Memorandum. That last winter, being in the
year 1680, the wood commonly called Balds- wood,
lying in this parish of Ashford, belonging to the
Eari of Thanet, was felled, and tithe was paid in

The Registers. 79

kind, viz., 12 cord of wood, to me Samuel Warren,
vicar. Witness my hand, in the presence of John
Brett, Robertt Greenhill, churchwardens, James
Wise, John Ireland, overseers.

BURIALS.

1573. November ii. Edward ffogge, Esquyre,
was buried.

1581. Aprill 16. Katherine, the daughter of the
Reverend Father in God, Richard, B. Suffragane
of Dover, was buried.*

1590. Aprill 17. John Engham,gentilman, buried.

1591. June 30. Thomas Smith, Esquyer, Lord
of this Towne of Ashford, was buried.

1593. June 21. Alice Smith, the widowe of
Thomas Smith, Lord of this towne, decessed at
London, and buried here.

1597. May 3. , John Smythe, the son of John
Smith, Esquire, was buried.

1601-2. Feb. 27. Thomas Pulter, Vicar and
Preacher of the woord of God, buryed.

1608-9. Jan. 12. Sir John Smyth, Knight, and
Lord of the Mannor of Eshfoord, buried.

• Richard Rogers, D.D., Archdeacon of St. Asaph, was in
1570 consecrated Bishop of Dover, and acted as Suffragan to
Archbishops Parker, Grindal, and Whitgift. He was after-
wards Dean of Canterbury, and, dying in 1597, was the last
Suffragan Bishop of Dover.

8o History of Ashford.

1612. Julie 15. Marie, the daughter of Thomas
Engham, Gent., buried.

1616-17. Jan. I. Henry Engham, Gent., was
buried.

1623. Aprill 24. James Mascall, Gent., buried.

1625. Aprill 20. Thomas Horsey, junior, and
Thomas, his sonne, buried, de peste, suposed the
originall. 86 persons are entered as having died
of the plague during this summer, in addition to
the ordinary mortality.

1627. Nov. 22. Mrs. Dorathie, the daughter of
Sir Thomas Smith, buried.

1628. July 25. Sr. Richard Smith, Knight, of
London, buried.

1632. Nov. 20. Mr. John Lepeena buried.

1635. Ju^y ^5- Thomas Smith, Knight of the
Bath, Lord Viscount Strangford, buried.

1638. Aprill 3. Mr. John Hawtrey, Gent.,
BaylifTe of the towne.

1643-4. Jan. 19. Mrs. Sarah Lupine.

1662. Aprill 17. John, the sonne of Mster.
Isaac Rutton.

1663. June 20. Maddam Strangford.
Dec. II. Annis Reading, 106.

1663-4. Jan. 14.* Mr. Viall's man.

1664. Dec. 14. Mr. Jacob's Father.

The RegisUrs. 8i

1664-5. J^'^* 9* Anne, y^ daughter of Isaac and

Margaret Rutton, of Hithe.
1665. March 15. The Lord Strangford's son,
1674. Aug. 26. Philip, son of Philip, Viscount

Lord Strangford.

1678. July 12. Samuel Wood, inne keeper at the
Saracen's Head.

1679. Nov. 7. John Stringer, of Bybrooke, gent.
i68o. Oct. 28. Mary, daughter of Philip, Vis-
count Lord Strangford.

i68o-i. Jan. 27. Anne, daughter of Anthony
Irby, Esquire, and Mary his wife.

1681. July 8. Alice Pelham, widow ; reputed 98
years of age.

1681. Nov. 24. John, son of Philip, Viscount
Lord Strangford.

1682. Dec. 27. Mary Barker, widow; neer a 100
years old.

1686. April 9. Mary Irby, widow of Anthony
Irby, Esqre.

1695-6. Jan. 31. Thomas, son of Viscount Lord
Strangford.

1703. Nov. 18. George, eldest son to Lord
Viscount Strangford.

1704. Dec. 13. Panton, son of George Toke.
1705-6. March 13. Nicolas, son of George Toke.

G

Sz History of Ash/ord.

1705. April 8. Mary Lownds, widow, 80 years
old and a quarter. She was bom on a Christmas-
day, dyed on a Good Friday, buried on Easter-day.
Remarkable.

1708. August 8. Philip, Lord Viscount Strang-
ford.

1712. May 23. George Toke, a surgeon.

1713. July 12. Mary Sturton, widow, aged 85 ;
used no spectacles.

1720. April 4. Captain Wilfred Hart.

1722-3. Feb. 20. Martha Cowell was put into ye
ground without any service performed, at y« request
of her husband.

1726. Aug. 21. Dorothy Browne, 102 years of age.

1730. Oct. 23. Mrs. Sarah Rutton.

1739. Dec. 4. William Whitfeld, senr.

1740. May I. Rev. Peter Norwood, M.A.

1741. Sep. 13. Mr. Matthias Rutton.

1742. Nov. 17. Anthony Irby, gent.

1752. Jan. 19. Mr, Henry Dering.

1753. Jan. 16. Mrs. Judith Rutton.
1776. April 16. Rev. Mr. Edward Young.
1779. July 10. Thomas Hussey.

1834. July 19. Hon. Lionel Sydney Sm3rthe.
1855. June 4. Rt. Hon. Percy Clinton Sydney
Viscount Strangford.

The Registers. 83

MARRIAGES.

1624. O^** 2'' Thomas Shelgrave, of Becknam,
in Kent, Esquier, and Anne Colpepper, daughter of
Sir Alexander Colpepper, maried by vertue of a
licence granted from Cant.

1659. Aug. 9. The marriage between Mr. Julius
Deeds, of Newington, and Mrs. Anne Bate, was
solemnized in Ashford, upon certificate of the
intended marriage, according to the act, by me,
Tho. Osmonton, rector of Ivychurch.

1734. June 4. Thomas Johnson (aged 87) and
Mary Dubbin (aged 67), both of this parish.

BAPTISMS.

1581. Dec. 17. John, the son of Joseph Mynge,
preacher of the word at Ashford, and minister
there, was bapt.

1596. Oct. 12. Robert Edolph, the sonne of
John Edolphe, gentilman.

1598-9. Jan. 21. Ann Hall, the daughter of
Edward Hall, gentilman.

1601. Aug. 14. John Edolph, the sonne of John
Edolph, gent.

1608. Oct. 13. Janne, the daughter of Thomas
Edoulph, gent.

1625. June 14. John, the sonne of William
Roper, gent.

84 History of Ashford.

1631-2. Jan. I. Mildred, the daughter of Mr.
John Deering, gent.

1643. July n. Lydia, the daughter of Mr.
Philip Chute, and Ann his wife.

1660. Aug. 28. William, the sonne of Mr. Julius
and Anne Deedes, borne and bap. Sep. 9.

1663. Dec. 14. Rebecca, daughter of Julius and
Anne Deedes, of Hide.

171 X. April 17. Isaac, son of Matthias and
Sarah Rutton.

1712. May 31. Henry Bigg, 68 years old.

1715. June 15. Matthias, son of Matthias and
Sarah Rutton.

Under the date 1653 is the following memo-
randum : —

"According to the late Act of Parliament,
entituled an Act touching the registring of
Marriages, Births, and Burialls : This is to certify
that Mr. Nicolas Prigg, being chosen by the
inhabitants of the Towne of Ashford to bee their
Registrer, was approved and sworne to the per-
formance of that trust, on or about the 4th October,

1653"

During the Commonwealth the entries of Banns

The Registers. 85

and Marriages were made after the fashion of the
annexed specimen : —

1654. Aprill 9. The purpose of marriage between

16. Isaack Norton and Sarah Pelham,

23. both of this Parish, was published

April 9, and 16, and 23, none

excepting against it.

May 4. Isaack Norton, of Ashford, Taylour,
Sonne of Richard Norton, of Ashford, and Sarah
Pelham, the daughter of Richard Pelham, of
Smeeth, were married together in Ashford, by
Justice Honywood, of Kingsnorth, the day and
year aforesaid. — Henry Honywood.

On the passing of the Act, in the time of
Charles H., prohibiting burials except in woollen,
an elaborate certificate (of which the following is
an example) that the terms of the Act had been
complied with became necessary: —

" 1678. Aug. 13. Mary Harris, Singlewoman,
buiyed. That she was buryed in woollen was
testified as followeth. These are to certifie any
whom it may concern that Mary Chowton, of Ash-
ford, in the county of Kent, widow, and Anne
Popjoy, wife of Edward Popjoy, of the same
parish, in the county aforesaid, husbandman,
did, this present 19th day of August, 1678, come

86 History of Ash/ord,

and appear before me Sir Norton KnatchbuU,
Knight and Baronett, in my house at Mersham
Hatch, and did then and there before me take
their severall oaths that Mary Harris, of Ash-
ford aforesaid, in the said county, singlewoman,
lately deceased, and interred, as they say, on the
thirteenth day of this instant August, was not put
in, wrapt, or wound up, or buried, in any shirt,
shift, sheet, or shroud, made or mingled with fiax,
hemp, silk, hair, gold, or silver, or any other thing
than what is made of sheep's wool! onely ; or in
any coffin lined or faced with any cloth, stuff, or
other materiall, but sheep's wooll onely. In testi-
mony whereof the parties above said have likewise
hereunto put their hands and scales the day and
year above mentioned.

** Mary Chowton,

"Anne Popjoy,

" Norton Knatchbull."

On the fly-leaves of one or two of the older
volumes of Registers, Mr. Warren has made the
following interesting memoranda : —

** There fell a great deal of snow on Aprill 22,
being Good Friday, 167 — hills, meadows, houses,
all covered with snow : and on May-day following,
and on the 4th May, fell much snow, that in some

The Registers, 87

places, where were drifts, it was above a yard deep
and lay several days on the hills, which we could
see several miles off, and all this time very cold
weather, and so continued about 10 days. It was
very wet and cold to the 5th of June."

" In the year 1683 there was a very hard frost,
beginning a little before Christmas, and lasted 7
weeks. The frost went 3 foot in the ground, froze
all rivers that mills could not grind, the sea about
Hithe and Dover was frozen many miles into the
sea. The Thames at London so frozen that they
built streets upon it, and coaches went commonly
upon it The like frost has not been known in
man's memory."

" On the 2ist day of March, 1685, being Lord's
day, the Steeple of Wye fell down about 1 1 of the
clock in the forenoon^ and presently after the
minister and people were gone from church, and
so nobody was hurt ^by the fall. Oh wonderful
Providence ! ! "

" On Thursday, Sept. 8th, 1692, there was an
earthquake all over England, and in some parts of
France, Flanders, Holland, and Germany, all at
the same time, at a little after two of the clock in
the afternoon. It lasted about a minute or little
more."

88 History of Askford,

" On the 28th of July, 1703, being Wednesday,
it began to rain between 6 and 7 in the morning
and held till 2 o'clock in the afternoon pretty
moderately, and then it began to rain exceeding
hard, with very little intermission, until between 4
and 5 the next morning, which caused a great
flood that carried away a great deal of hay out of
the meadows down the river : a great loss to many
people."

<' On Friday, and specially on Saturday morning,
the 26 and 27 days of November, 1703, there were
most terrible and dreadful storms of wind with
which it pleased Almighty God to afflict the
greatest part of this kingdom. Some of our ships
of war and many other ships were destroyed and
lost at sea, and great numbers of men serving on
board the same perished. And many houses,
bams, and other buildings, were either wholly
thrown down and demolished, or very much
damnified and defaced, and thereby several persons
were killed, viz., the Bishop of Bath and Wells,
Dr. Kidder, &c. And many stacks of com and
hay thrown down and scattered abroad, to the
great damage and impoverishment of many others,
especially the poorer sort And great number of
timber and other trees were tom up by the roots.

The Registers, 89

others broke short asunder in the middle ; some
whole orchards rooted up, others much damnified.
Philip Warham, of Wye, had 220 trees blown
down in his orchard. A calamity of this sort so
dreadful and astonishing that the like has not been
seen or felt in the memory of any person living in
the nation. Hereupon the Queen (Anne) ap-
pointed a general fast throughout the kingdom on
Jan. 19, following.*'

90 History of Ash/ord,

PAROCHIAL ACCOUNTS.

The following extracts from the Churchwardens'
and other Parochial Account Books have been
thought to possess sufficient interest for publica-
tion : —

1632. " At a vestry meeting, 15th January,
1632, it is agreed by a generall consent concerning
the Lecture, that for the nomber there should be
six neighbour ministers spoken with, and that if
any refused then another should be named in his
stead at the next vestry meeting ; which sayd
ministers are those whose names are here under-
written :

" Mr. Taylor, of Hastingleigh ;

'* Mr. Ely, of Charing ;

" Mr. Allen, of Elham ;

« Mr. Wood, of Hinckhill ;

" Mr. Richmond, of Wy ;

" Mr. Player, of Kennington ;
besides the Incumbent."

Parochial Accounts, gi

" Memorandum. At a vestry meeting, the
second day of December, 1634, it was agreed
concerning the collection for the Lecture on the
Saturdays, it was agreed that John Roberts, the
clerk of the parish, should goe to every man, and
demand what their goodwill shalbe towards the
mayntenance of the sayd lecture on the Saturday,
and especially for the yeare that is past, and to
have his authoryty from the minister and church-
wardens, and to make his account to the minister
and churchwardens when he shalbe required/'

"1672. Item, given to Jane Smithson, s. d.

of Dover, whose husband was then taken
by the Turkes, and they required seaven-
ty odd pounds for his ransom i 6

Item. Paid to Tho. Clarke for half
one pint of wine, for Mr. Wilson to
drinke before sermone* 6

July 12. Given unto Kathrin Bridg-
man, a minister's widdow in distresse ... 16

• The entries relating to wine furnished to the various clergy
before or after preaching afford a curious instance of the manner
in which drinking was associated in old times with all English
occupations, whether public or private, sacred or profane. The
custom of supplying the Preacher with wine still survives in a
modified form in the bottle of wine placed for the use of the
officiating minister in the vestries of the chapels of some of the
London companies.

92 History of Ashford.

£ s. d.
Oct. 30. For too certificats to cleere
the poor inhabitants from paying hearth

A«'wiicy ••• ••• ••• ••• •«• ••• ••• A %J

Nov. 24. Item, for earning of donge
out of the churchyard 3 o

Nov. 27. Paid George Sanders for
giveing notice that none lay any more
donge in the churchyard 4

1673. Jan. 13. Item, given to widdow
burd, shee being in povertieand oppressed
by the chimney man**^ 2 o

Nov. 10. Paid for a pint of sake,
when Mr. Jematt preached x o

Paid a messengar to intreat him to

vOUlT ••• *••, ••• •** *** *** *** *** 4

Dec. 23. Gaue a gentell man, who
had a wife an dather with him, who was
undon by fire 6

1675. Payd to Richard Snoade for a

lox'iieciu ••• ••• ••. •■• .«• ••• ••• X u

Payd for a poulcatt and hedge hog's

UCciQ ... ..• ... ••• ... ... ... ... A

* ie. The coUector of the tax on chimneys.

t Mr. Jemmett, whose presence was so much desired, was
Rector of Hinxhill.

Parochial Accounts, 93

Item. Given to Margarett Berry and
Joane Mayney, whose husbands were in

DlCi V V 1 V ■•• ••• ••• ••• «•• ••• ••• \J

1679. Item, 27th July, paid for a
bottle of Renish and a pint of sack when
Mr. Viall preached 2 6

Nov. 10. Gave a man that lost his
estate in Lincolnsheir by flood i o

1681. March 28. Paid one Francis
Fowler, a distressed minister i o

Item, given the ringers on ^ Queen
Elizabeth's coronation day, beinge the
17th of November* 106

1683. Item, paid Mr. Greene for bring-
ing of the paper menconing the time of
the Kings Maiesties touching for the evill 2 o

1685. Item, for one sun dyall, and a

new lock and two keys, as appears by bill 6 o

1686. Item, given to a protestant that

Mr. Warren brought to mef i o

* This entry proves the hold which "Good Queen Bess" had
gained on the aJQTections of the people. She had already been
dead 78 years, but the custom of ringing the bells on her
Coronation Day was continued 50 years longer.

t These "Protestants" were the French Refugees driven
over by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. As their
ministers were not Episcopally ordained, it is remarkable that
one of them was allowed to preach (as a subsequent entry shows
he was) in Ashford church.

94 History of Askford.

£ s. d.
For one velvett pulpett cloth, and

bringing the same from London 9 n i

For cullering the pulpett and ' funt ... 3 6 o

1687. Item, paid to Daniell Taylor

and Parker of Westwell, for seven foxes

caught in this parish 7 o

Item, given unto a lame minister that

L/lCdv«IlC>U ..a ... ... «.• *.• ■.* ... JCi \J

Item, given him in lieu of wine ... 20

Item, given to Mr. Warren, on Christ-
mas day, thirtieth of January, and fifth
of November, in lieu of wine, as he said
was alowed him 3 o

16SS. Spent upon the ringers ringing
upon the birth of the Prince of Wales* 6 o

16S9. Given Mr. Warren to welcom
him from Londonf i o

Paid to Mr. Warren, by order of the
parish, towards the repairs of his housef 500

1 69 1. July 27. Spent upon the ringers
upon our hearing of our forces beating

LliCxllo*ix*** ••• ••• •■• ••• ■■• ■■• ^ \3

* The Prince of Wales, for whose birth the bells rang so
merrily, was the unfortunate James Francis Edward commonly*
called The Old Pretender.

t These two entries seem to testify to the good understanding
which prevailed between Mr. Warren and his parishioners.

X No doubt the Battle of the Boyne, fought July i, 1691.

Parochial Accounts, 95

£ S' ^'

Aug. 16. For a bottle of whine for

the french minister's preaching i o

1692. Spent on the ringers the day of
rejoyceing when the candles were
lighted'*^ 14 o

Given to a man whose tongue was cut
out in Turkey i 6

1693. Given Mr. John Warren when

he preached three bottles of syder ... 10

April 10, 1694, At a Publick Meetinge of the
Inhabitants of the Parish of Ashford, in the
County of Kent. It was then agreed that no
Churchwarden for the futur do expend out of the
Church Rents any moneys for Ringing, Gaol
Money, Bondfires, Relief to any poor Travellers,
all vermine, and Communion Wine, or any other
expenses whatsoever, other than what is expended
or laid out on the Repairs of the Church, with the
appurtenances, according to the the true intent and
meaning of the donor or donors of the said Church
Rents.

Accordingly in 1695 a Church " Sess" was levied
from which these payments were made.

• This probably refers to an illumination after the naval
victory of La Hogue,

96 Hiitory of Aihford.

£ s. d.

1700. Paid Mr, George Wade for
painting the chancell 20 o o

1710. Spent on the workmen to view
the ground where the galleiy was to be
built according to order of court 6

Paid for the Branch, as by bill 16 18 o

Paid fortwo Silver Flaggons, weighing
1040Z. iid. at 6s. 6d. peroz 33 19 3

1713. Paid Mr. Warren for a Salver
and two plates 9 o

1715. Spent when the sentences
were new done i 6

Paid Mr. Atkins in part for timber and
putting out and framing the Galleiy ... 10 o o

1719. Received for seats sold in the
newGalleiy 40 13 O

Spent about getting an order to erect
the Gallery 10 7 6

1742. Paid the cryer for crying off
throwing at cock in the churchyard ... 2

1744. Paid Mr. Charles Sloane, for
designing, surveying, and drawing the
several works for new pewing and paving

the church lo o o

1745, Paid for the Facultie to new

pew the church 5 19 10

I

Parochial Accounts. gj

£ *• ^•

1746. Paid William Bigg for repair-
ing the Pinacles and guilding the Vanes 12 12 o

1771. Paid to John Honey for cutting
the elder trees out of the pinacles of the

B »C wlC ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• •■• ^ w

1777. Paid Thomas Shrimpton for
four large copper vanes, five feet long,
with strong cast iron bannisters, the

vanes richly gilt in oyl, gold, &c 42 o o

1778. The remaining sum £41 2S. 3d. was this
year paid to Edward Honiss for repairing the
pinnacles of the church, £63 os. od. having been
previously paid.

1668. January 28. Received then of Simon
Gilberd of a brefe that was gathered for the fire of
London, the some of seven pounds, seventene
shilings, and ten pence.

Wittnes my hande,

Tho. ffenner, Cunstabell.

1674. March 22. Colected for this brefe con-
saming the grete lost by fire in the univarseti of
Oxford the sum of four shilings to pence in our
town of Ashford, by Tho. Jemett and Tho. Reve,
Churchwardens.

1679. Sept. 9. Reed then of Mr. Jemmitt, of
Ashford, the summe of Elleaven Shillings and Six

gS History of Ashford.

Pence, being so much collected on a breife for
rebuilding Benenden Church.

I say reed by me,

Jno. Heard.
Aprill ye 30th, 1679. Ashford.

Received upon the breife for the rebuilding
of St. Paul's Church, London, the summe of
o II o.

Geo. Upton.
May 2, 1682. Received then for the Collection
in the said parish on the breife for the distressed
Protestants of ffrance the summe of £^ 9s. 6d. by
me. Hart Hirst.

These briefs were apparently issued without much
discrimination and usually yielded a very trifling
sum. There is a long list of them in one of the
parish books. Those mentioned above are selected
as relating to well-known subjects, but most of them
refer to the losses of individuals by fire or flood.

Remarkable Events. 99

REMARKABLE EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF ASHFORD.

This town was the scene in January, 1557, of one
of those horrible tragedies then so common in
England — the burning of two martyrs, during the
Marian persecution, for their adherence to the
reformed faith. Their names were N. Final and
Matthew Bradbridge, both of Tenterden, and their
martyrdom is thus referred to in the curious con-
temporary poem, the ** Register" of Thomas Bryce,
published in 1559 : —

** When two at Ashforde with crueltie

For Christes cause to death were brent :

When not long after two at Wye

Suffered for Christe His* Testament :

When wyly wolves put these to death

We wisht for our Elizabeth. "

Harris states that a terrible earthquake was felt
here on May-day, 1580.

At the latter end of the summer of 1625 the
plague raged dreadfully (as the Register testifies)

loo History of Ashford.

•

in this town and neighbourhood, insomuch that the
Justices of the Peace, finding the inhabitants
unable to relieve and support the sick who were
poor and in necessity, taxed this and the neigh-
bouring Hundreds for that purpose, according to
the directions of the Privy Coiincil, lest, as was
said, the sick should be forced for the succour of
their lives to break forth of the town to the great
danger of the country.

We may here add that in 1591 was published
in London a quarto pamphlet entitled ** Sundrye
Strange and Inhumaine Murthers lately committed.
The first of a Father that hired a man to kill three
of his children, neere to Ashford, in Kent; the
second of Master Page, of Plymouth, murthered
by the consent of his owne wife, with a strange
discovery of sundrie other murthers."

In the month of May, 1856, the children belong-
ing to the various schools in the town — having
previously marched from Barrow Hill, attended by
the clergy, dissenting ministers, and teachers —
were regaled, to the number of several hundreds,
with a substantial dinner in commemoration of the
restoration of peace after the Crimean war. The
tables were spread in the High Street, and the
whole scene was of a very interesting character.

Remarkable Events. loi

Nor was Ashford at all behind-hand on the occa-
sion of the rejoicings for the marriage of the
Prince of Wales with the Princess Alexandra of
Denmark, loth March, 1863. The day commenced
with divine service in the parish church, attended
by all classes and denominations of the parish-
ioners. In the afternoon a tea was provided in the
assembly rooms for a large number of elderly
persons, while the younger people amused them-
selves with athletic sports, and the evening was
devoted to fireworks and an illumination.

The following remarkable facts will be interesting
to the lovers of natural history. In the spriAg of
1866 a pair of blue titmice built their nest in a
letter-box attached to a gate-post at the entrance
to a residence at Barrow-hill, but the eggs were
destroyed by boys putting stones into the box. In
the same year, a pair of the same birds built their
nest in a letter-box attached to the front door of one
of the Star-villas, and reared eleven young ones.
In the spring of the following year (1867) the same
pair, as it was supposed, again built their nest in
the letter box, and reared twelve young ones.
They entered the box by a vertical slit in the door,
apparently too narrow to admit even the smallest
bird. During the period of incubation the sitting

ti02 History of Ashford.

bird allowed the box to be opened and examined,
and the frequency and rapidity with which the pair
flew in and out while feeding their young attracted
the notice of the numerous passers-by to a circum-
stance perhaps unheard of in the history of British
birds.

Ashford Tokens, 103

ASHFORD TOKENS.

As is well-known, it was customary with trades-
men, especially innkeepers, to issue in the time of
Charles II. small copper coins for the convenience
of their customers in the scarcity of the produc-
tions of the Royal Mint. Of these tokens, fifteen
were issued at Ashford, of some of which a descrip-
tion, taken from the Numismatic Chronicle^ of
September, 1863, will be found below. Several
specimens are in the possession of Mr. Brothers,
of this town.

"James Bassett, in Ashford, i66g, his half-peny,"
bears the figure of St. George on horseback, in a
tunic and encased in armour, with an immense
scimitar in his uplifted right hand threatening
destruction to the dragon under his horse's feet.
Mr. Bassett was the host of the George, which
has apparently undergone but slight alteration
since his days.

The coin of " Francis Baylef, at the Pyd Bull,

I04 History of Ashford.

in Ashford/' has a curious little animal with large
erect head and raised foot stamping as in anger —
a favourite sign, doubtless, in a grazing and agri*
cultural district, and intended as a representation
of the far-famed Yorkshire breed of pied cattle.

On the '<half-peny of James Chittenden, of
Ashford, i66g,** we find as a device a tankard
between the letters J.M.C. The tankard, or pot,
is said to have been of the form of a segment of a
cone cut parallel to its base, from the delight of
our ancestors in taking a toast in their ale; for
this purpose the base was broad, so that the com-
posure of the drinker, when near the end of his
draught, might not be suddenly dissipated by the
descent of the sop with a splash into his eyes and
face.

The device, a malt-shovel, on the half-penny of
''William Botting, of Ashford, i66g," points to
his trade.

A chequered square and the letters T.A.R.
appear on the farthing of << Thomas Redfeild, of
Ashford, in Kent." His abode, the " Chequers"
inn, stood on the north-east side of the church,
but has been many years pulled down.

A piece bearing the initials T.F.S., and on the
reverse '' In Ashford, 1664," was the coin of

Ashford Tokens. 105

Thomas Flint. The Flints were a family of long-
standing and good repute in the town. Mr. Thomas
Flinty the issuer of the token, was a respectable
tradesman who died 5th February, 1677, ^^^^ 70,
having purchased the house now occupied by
Messrs. Bugler and Hammond, which continued to
be the home of the family until October, 1801, when
it was sold by his descendant, Mr. Thomas Flint,
on his removal to Canterbury. Brooke Place ex-
cepted, it may be doubted whether another house
can be found in the town which has passed from
father to son through five generations and been
occupied by them continuously during 140 years.
Since 1783, when it was new-fronted, the house in
question has been one of the most conspicuous in
the High Street. By marriage the Flints were
connected with several families of position, viz.,
Pattensons, Blackmores, and Marshes. One of
their relatives, Thomas Marsh, gent., a man of
superior ability, and for many years the leading
surgeon of the place, died at Ashford in 1749. It
is recorded of him that he scrupulously devoted
to the poor the whole of his professional gains on
the Sunday. Benjamin F. Flint, Esq., of Margate,
is, I believe, the present representative of this
family.

io6 History of Ashford,

REMARKABLE PERSONS CONNECTED WITH ASHFORD.

The family of Osborne, from which the Duke of
Leeds is descendedi was of this town; Richard
Osborne, Esq., of Ashford, being father of Sir
Edward Osborne, Clothworker, who served the
office of Lord Mayor of London in 1582— the
Duke*s direct ancestor.

King William IIL, in 1696, created Arnold Joost
Van Keppel, Baron Ashford, of Ashford, in Kent,
Viscount Bury, and Earl of Albemarle, whose
representative now enjoys the titles.

Robert Glover, bom in 1543, was the son of
Thomas Glover, Gent., of this town. In 1571, he
was appointed Somerset Herald, and in 1582
attended Lord Willoughby with the Order of the
Garter to Frederick IL of Denmark, and in 1584
accompanied the Earl of Derby with that Order to
Henry IIL, King of France. He was one of the
most distinguished members of the College of
Anns and appears to have been the leader in the

Remarkable Persons, 107

quarrel with Sir William Dethick, Garter King,
which was terminated by the latter resigning his
office. Glover assisted Camden in the Pedigrees
for his Britannica, drew up the Visitations of 24
Counties, compiled M.S. Genealogies of the
Nobility of the realm in Latin, and made a collection
of Funeral Inscriptions in Kent, and a Catalogue of
the Northern Gentry whose names ended in " son."
He wrote ** De Nobilitate Politica vel Civili " and
a '* Catalogue of Honour," both of which were
published after his death by his nephew. He also
compiled an ordinary of Arms classed in such a
manner as to render it easy to ascertain the family
to which any particular Coat belongs. This was
augmented and improved by Edmondson, and is
published in the first volume of his Body of
Heraldry. Glover died in London, 14 April, 1588,
aged 45, and was buried in St. Giles' Church,
Cripplegate. — Dictionary of Universal Biography,
John Wallis, the celebrated mathematician, was
bom at Ashford in 161 6, his father being then
vicar. He received his education at Felstead
school, Essex, and at Cambridge. Having taken
holy orders he obtained a London living, and in
1644 became one of the secretaries to the Assembly
of Divines at Westminster. He was one of the

io8 History of Ashford.

first members of the scientific association which
gave birth to the Royal Society, and in 1649 was
appointed by the Parliamentary visitors Savilian
Professor of Geometry at Oxford, where he was
subsequently chosen keeper of the archives.. He
was particularly skilful in the art of deciphering,
and having by this means been enabled to render
considerable service to the royal cause, he was, on
the restoration of Charles II., very favourably
received at court and made one of the king's
chaplains. In 1661 he was one of the divines
appointed to review the Book of Common Prayer,
and as he complied with the terms of the Act of
Uniformity he continued a steady conformist to
the established church till his death. When the
Royal Society was founded in 1663, the name of
Dr. Wallis was included in the list of the earliest
members ; and he added much to the reputation of
that body by his valuable contributions to the
Philosophical Transactions. He bestowed great
attention, and that with good success, on the noble
pursuit of devising means for the instruction of
the deaf and dumb. He was the first to apply the
principle of virtual velocities (discovered by Galileo)
80 as to make it the foundation of the whole science
of statics. In his Arithmetic of Infinities he

Remarkable Persons. 109

approached nearer to the discovery of the method
of fluxions than any of his predecessors and in
this branch of mathematics is to be regarded as the
immediate precursor of Newton. After a long life
devoted to science and the duties of his clerical
profession he died at Oxford in 1703. His works,
including various treatises on theology, were pub-
lished at Oxford in three volumes folio, and a
volume of his sermons, printed from the original
manuscripts, appeared in 1791. — Popular Encyclo-
fadia and Dictionary of Universal Biography.

In Pepys' well-known Diary and Correspondence
there are several allusions to Dr. Wallis, and the
following letter : —

" Dr. Wallis to S. Pepys.

" Oxford, 24 Sep., 1701.

" Sir, — ^You have been pleased to put an honour
upon me which I could not deserve, nor did expect
— ^to send so worthy an artist as Sir Godfrey
Kneller, from London to Oxford, to take my
picture at length, and put the charge of it to your
own account. I wish it may be to your content.
It had been more agreeable to my circumstances,
if you had commanded my attendance to wait on
you at London ; which I should have readily
obeyed, if my age would permit it. Till I was

no History of Ashford,

past fourscore years of age, I could pretty well
bear up under the weight of those years ; but
since that time, it hath been too late to dissemble
my being an old man. My sight, my hearing, my
strength, are not as they were wont to be. Then
I have no cause to complain of God's providence,
through whose goodness I do yet enjoy as much of
ease and health as I can reasonably expect at these
years ; and, though you and some other friends
are pleased to think me not quite unserviceable,
yet I must not so far flatter myself as not to think
but that it doth better become me to conceal the
infirmities of age than to expose them. I have
endeavoured to express to Sir Godfrey the sense I
have of your undeserved favour, by treating him
with the respect due to a person of his quality ;
and, if I have been therein defective, I desire- it
may be imputed to the absence of my daughter,
who is my housekeeper, but chanced now to be out
of town; whereby I was obliged to depend on
servants. I know not what to return for your
great kindness, but the humble thanks of

** Sir, yours &c.,

"John Wallis."
Pepys himself, writing to Kneller, thus refers to
the same subject — ** I have long, with great

Remarkable Persons. iii

pleasure, determined upon providing as far as I
could by your hand towards immortalizing the
memory of the persoriy for his fame can never die,
of that great man and my most honoured friend
Dr. Wallis, to be lodged as an humble present of
mine, though a Cambridge man, to my dear aunt,
the University of Oxford." The portrait was sent
to Oxford in September, 1702, and Pepys in the
following month received a diploma and formal
letter of thanks **for his noble testimony of
respect and affection to learning and this university
in the picture of one of their professors placed by
him lately in their great gallery, among their
founders, benefactors, and men of eminent worth
and quality."

Although not a man who attained celebrity. Dr.
William Warren must not be omitted from the
catalogue of Ashford Worthies. The son of the
Rev. Samuel Warren, vicar, he was born at the
College, 27th April, 1683, and being admitted into
orders, acted ^as curate of the parish in 1707, a
subscription having been raised in that year among
the^inhabitants, and renewed on several occasions,
for the purpose of providing his father with assist-
ance, . He seems to have had a stroncr last i for
antiquarian and literary pursuits, coupled witii

112 History of Ashfctd.

warm attachment to his native town. Under the
influence of these feelings we find him copimuni-
eating to the Royal Society an account of the
ancient date already referred to as existing in this
church, and compiling a manuscript description of
Ashford Church, College, and School, a description
which has been the means of preserving much
interesting information that would otherwise have
been lost, and to which the writer of these pages
is deeply indebted. Mr. Warren*s preface to his
manuscript is so neatly and so unaffectedly ex-
pressed that I cannot resist the temptation to lay
it before my readers : — '< When I began to make
ye following collections, I designed to have com-
prized all in a few pages; but as I went on I
found my curiosity increased, till by degrees, as
my leisure served, my papers swelled to this
thickness. Perhaps it may be thought yt I have
put down many things hardly worth y« notice I
have taken of ym. I desire therefore yt whenever
such things shall occur to any one yt shall read
this account, he would pass them over and not
regard them. However, if this book should chance
to escape being torn to pieces or burnt; if itchould
happen to be preserved 'till we yt are now alive
shall be dead and gone, perhaps those things which

Remarkable Persons, 113

may seem too minute and not worth taking notice
of noWf may not seem so theUy especially to per-
sons yt shall then live in this town, and shall be in
any measure curious and inquisitive. But be this
as it will, my desire is, yt this book may be always
preserved at Ashford, and yt the Vicar for ye time
being may always have it in his own custody. I
conclude with humbly beseeching God Almighty
to bless and prosper the beloved place of my
nativity. Wm. Warren, Ashford, July 25th, 17 12."
The manuscript contains about 120 pages of small
folio size and is for the most part very clearly
written. After the death of his father. Dr.
Warren probably resided at Cambridge, where he
held a fellowship at Trinity Hall, and there in all
likelihood he died. He was buried at Ashford,
January nth, 1744-5, and on a tablet affixed to the
south wall of the south chancel of the church is
the following inscription to his memory, from
which we gather that the stone placed over his
grave on the east of the churchyard having
become broken and defaced, his grandnephews
erected the tablet, on which they repeated the
words of the original memorial : —

** Labefacto Gulielmi Warren, L.L.D., sepulchre
extra Parietes ecclesise ad orientem sito quas in eo

I

ti^ History of Ashford,

incisa erant in propatrui memoriam hie reiicienda
curaverunt. C et P» W.

ri. S. £•
Gulielmus Warren, L.L.D., Aulae S.S. Trinitatis
Socius, Samuelis Warren iilius hujus ecclesiae
olim vicariiy obiit A.D., 1744, anno setatis suae 61."

The Rev. R. H. Barham, the well-known author
of the Ingoldsby Legends, resided for some time
in Ashford as curate of the parish.

This town may also claim an interest in Briga-
dier John Jacob, C.B., whose great services in
exterminating Thuggism in India and raising a
regiment of native cavalry will ever entitle him to
the gratitude of his country. His ancestor, Amos
Jacob, M.D., who died in 1688, resided at Barrow
Hill, and practised as a physician in this town.
Dr. Jacob left a son, Edward Jacob, Esq., of
Canterbury, who married Jane, daughter of the
Rev. Strangford Viol, formerly master of the
Ashford Grammar School, by Jane his wife a
member of the family of Fogge, of Repton.
Their grandson, the Rev. Stephen Long Jacob,
was the father of the General, by Eliza Susanna,
eldest daughter of the Rev. James Bond, vicar of
Ashford; so that although not a native of the
town, nor ever a resident, he was by repeated

Remarkable Persons. 115

family ties connected with it. General Jacob died
in 1858. His brother, the Rev. G. A. Jacob, D.D.,
is the present Head Master of Christ's Hospital.

We may also mention that C. M. Norwood, Esq.,
M.P. for Hull, is a native of this town.

The following names of families now inhabiting
the town, occur in the Registers at the date
specified : — Ellott, 1579. Jemmett, 1586. Reeve,
1629. Dorman, 1640. Greenhill, 1645. R&bson,
1717.

Ii6 Histofy of 4shford,

CHARITIES.

The Revd. Thomas Turner, D.D., President of
Corpus Christi College, Oxford, gave, in 1702, 63
acres of land, lying in the parish of Challock, for
the support of a school for the education of poor
children of this parish in the principles of the
Church of England, with liberty to employ six
pounds per annum of the rental in apprenticing
a boy or girl, who must be able to repeat the
catechism and be a constant attendant at the
parish church. The Dean and Archdeacon of
Canterbury for the time being were empowered by
Dr. Turner to make, with the consent of the
Archbishop, such regulations as they thought fit
for the disposal of the charity, and under their
sanction it is now applied to the maintenance of
the National School. Trustees : Messrs. W. Whit-
feld, B. K. Thorpe, F. H. Hallett, G. W. Green-
hill^ G. Elliott, jun., and E. W. Thurston.

Lieut. Brett, by will dated 1704, left twenty
fijjillings per annum to be given away in clothing

Charities. X17

to the poor of this parish. The bequest was
charged on " Pillicars" or " Pell-Acre."

Thomas Milles, Esq., of Davingtoiii by his will
proved in 1627, left £"200 to the poor of this parish,
with which sum, augmented by £"20, the bequest
of Sir Richard Smythe, 23 acres of land were
purchased at Hinxhill, and the rent is annually
expended in relieving the necessitous. From the
parish records are extracted the following notices
relating to this bequest : —

" Feb. 2, 1672. Att a meeting in the church of
Ashford, wee whose names are here under written
do hereby agree and promise that whatsoever
necessary expences and charges William Botting,
churchwarden, shall be at in order to the gaining
the £200 given long since by the will of Mr.
Thomas Milles unto the poor of this towne, shall
be alowed him either out of the said money if
recovered or els out of the other estate belonging
to the said poor. Francis Wreight, constable.
James Bate. Tho. Eluye. Tho. Tamkin. John
Grennell. John Denne. Thomas Reeve. John
Brissenden. Tho. Jemmett. Richard Atkins."

** The names of those that lent money and were
this 13 Aug. 1677, repaid : —

Mr. Hum. Wightwick ... 2 00 00
*< Francis Wreight : i 00 00

ii8 Hktory of Ashfard.

Mr

. Dan. Nower ...

...

...

3

oo

oo

U

Richard Adkins

...

...

I

oo

oo

a

Herbert Woodward

. ..

I

oo

oo

it

John Greenhill

...

...

I

oo

oo

a

Tho. Spratt ...

■•«

...

o

lO

oo

it

Robert Greenhill

...

...

o

lO

oo

it

Thos. Reeve...

...

. « •

05

oo

a

James Bate ...

...

...

4

oo

oo

it

Tho. Curteis...

...

...

X

10

oo

u

Henry Wise...

...

...

X

oo

oo

a

Daniel Cuckow

...

...

X

oo

00

II

Waterman ...

...

...

I

oo

oo

II

John Brissenden

...

...

o

10

00

II

Widd. Fisher

...

...

I

oo

oo

II

Clement Court

...

...

20

15

oo

4t

Tho. Gibs ...

...

...

oo

10

00

II

Mark Wanstall

...

...

I

oo

oo

II

Henry Lowndes

...

...

I

10

oo

II

Strangford Violl

...

...

I

10

oo

i*

John Tidham

...

...

I

00

oo

tx

Denne ...

. • a

...

oo

lO

oo

II

George Colt ...

...

••••

I

10

oo

II

Tho, Fenner ...

* • .

...

I

oo

oo

11

Tho. Jemmatt

...

• * •

00

10

oo

51

oo

oo

Charities, 119

" 13 Aug., 1677. We whose hands are here-
unto subscribed having lent several summs of
money towards the suing for and recovering the
legacy of £"200 given by Tho. Milles, of Daving-
ton, of Judge Twisden, the purchaser of the said
lands, doe hereby promise that if the said moneys
be required to make up the sum of ;f 200. allowed
by the Court of Chancery, we will give our hands
to an assessment for the re-imbursing of the same,
witnesse our hands ye day and year abovesaid."
Here follow 21 of the sFbove names.

Thomas Milles, of Norton Court, and of Dav-
ington Hall, Customer of Sandwich, Keeper of
Rochester Castle, and Esquire of the Body to
James I., was nephew of Glover, Somerset Herald,
and grandson of Richard Milles, Esq., of Hoth-
field, and was sent by Queen Elizabeth as Envoy
to Henry IV- of France, for which service he had
an augmentation to his armorial bearings. He
translated and published some of his uncle's
heraldic works. Trustees : Messrs. B. Thorpe,
B. K. Thorpe, F. H. Hallett, G. W. Greenhill,
W. Whitfeld, and G. Elliott, jun.

Mrs. Martha Copley (widow of Rev. John
Copley, successively vicar of Bethersden and
rector of Pluckley) dying in 1663, gave twenty

120 History of Ashford.

shillings to some " able and orthodox divine" to
preach a sermon annually on the third of June for
ever in Ashford church, and ten shillings to be
distributed among the poor on the same day — ^the
anniversary of her husband*s funeral. These
sums are charged on property in New Rents, now
held by Messrs. Lewis and Hyland. She also
bequeathed half-a-crown each to " those two men
that were churchwardens of Pluckley that year"
Mr. Copley was restored to his rectory, of which he
had been deprived during tfie great rebellion.

John Ashurst left half-an-acre of land, now
occupied by Messrs. Bunyard, for the repair of the
church, to which one rood and six perches adjoin-
ing were added in 1850 by G. E. Jemmett, Esq.

Richard Best, in 1575, conveyed to certain
trustees four acres of land at Barrow Hill for the
"reparations of the parish church of Ashford,"
and one acre, three roods, and twelve perches for
the benefit of the poor. Also, the Frith farm, at
Beaver, consisting of thirty-one acres ** to the
intent, purpose, and trust for the reparations to
and for the use, benefit, and advantage of the
parish church of Ashford, in such form as Her-
berts^ lands before that had been used to be
employed, which Herberts* lands the said Richar4

Charities. X2i

Beat took in exchange hereof." Trustees of Frith
fann: Messrs. B. Thorpe, B. K. Thorpe, F. H.
Hallett, G. W. Greenhill, and G. Elliott, jun.

Sir John Fogge, Knight, of Repton, by hia will
proved in 1490, bequeathed certain houses in the
High Street, with lands called Cottynton, and
rights of cutting grass, for the "reparations of the
church at Ashford where most need shall be.'*
Trustees : Messrs. T. Thurston, and W. Whitfeld.

Some portions of the above properties have at
various times been -necessarily sold, but the
proceeds of such sales have been invested in
government securities, and the interest is applied
according to the wishes of the donors.

James Wall, Esq., by will dated 1848, gave ;f300
to the vicar and churchwardens for the benefit of
the poor, to which ;f 350 was added by public sub-
scription, and with the whole sum four almshouses
were erected in 1853-4, on a site presented by
G. E. Jemmett, Esq. In 1854, Thomas Whitfeld,
Esq., of Lewes, having given ;f 100 towards the
endowment of these houses, a piece of adjoining
land was therewith purchased. Trustees : Vicar
and Churchwardens, Messrs. G. W. Greenhill, T.
Thurston, B. Thorpe, R. Rabson, J. M. Linom,
and G. Elliott, jun.

t2i History of Aihford,

Mr. H. P. Ramsey, chemist, of this town, who
died in 1861, gave the annual interest of a sum
amounting to about £600, the residue of hia
property, to the relief of poor members of the
Wesleyan body.

Will of Sir John Fogge, 123

WILL OF SIR JOHN FOGGB.

(Extracted out of the Registry of the Consistory
Court of His Grace the Lord Archbishop of
Canterbury. 1743.^

In the Name of Jhu, Amen. I, John Fogge,
knight, being, in whole mind, thanked be God, the
xvth day of July, the year of our Lord God, 1490,
and vth year of the reign of King Harry the
Vllth, make this my last Will and Testament, in
manner and form as followeth. First, I bequeath
my soul to Almighty God and to His Blessed
Moder and Maiden Saint Marie, and all the holy
company of Heaven, and my body to be buried
within the Church of Asshetyford, in a tomb
ordained by me for the same. Also I give and
bequeath unto the High Altar of the said Church
of Asshetyford, in recompence of my Tythes and
Offerings forgotten, vj viijd. Also, I will that xii
of the best dwellers of the said Parish, so that the
Heir of my Manor of Repton be one of the said

124 History of Ashford.

xii, shall put all the Jewels and Ornaments by me
ordained unto the Church in keeping of the best
disposed man dwelling within the town of Asshety-
ford, so as the Wardens may have recours unto
them, to set out and to have inne at all such Times
as may be thought most for the Honour and
Worship of God. Also, I will that Dame Alys
my wife shall have two acres of ground lying
beside her house at the Burrough in a Croft (be it
more or less), the which house she late purchased
of the heir of Pyers of Coouche, to have to her,
her heirs, and her assigns, the said land for ever-
more. Also, I will that my said Wife shall have
all my lands in Romney Marshe the term of her
life, except my lands called Stone, and a piece of
land lying without Stone containing 4 acres more or
less* Also, as to my mannours of Repton, Cberyton,
my said Lands called Stone, and the said 4 acres
of land, with the appurtenances, and all my lands
and tenements purchased in the Parish of Asshety-
ford and West-h3^he, except the 2 acres before
granted imto my said wife, I will that my said
ffeoffers of and upon the same do make a state
thereof immediately after my decease to my sone,
John ffogge, Esquire, and to the Heirs of his body
coming, and for default of such heirs, the rema^-

Will of Sir John Fogge. 125

ther thereof to the Heirs of my Body coming, and
for default of such heirs, the remaynther thereof
to John ffoughler, my neuewe, and to the heirs of
his body coming, and for default of such heirs, the
rema3mther thereof to my right heirs for evermore.
Also, as touching my mannors of oven, hepynton,
dane, and Krykkessule, with their appurtenances,
and my land purchased of Broke besides Krykkes-
sule, I will that my Feoffees of and in the same
after my decease suffer my said wife to take the
profits of the said mannors and lands with the
appurtenances, and she be sole unto the time she
have received ;f 300 for the marriage of my three
daughters, Anne, Elizabeth, and Margaret. That
is to say, unto the marriage of every one of them
£100, and if it happen my said wife to be married
or to dye, then I will that myne other Executors
receive the said profits to the intent aforesaid, and
after the ;f 300 so received, I will my said Feoffees
suffer my said wife, if she then live, to take the
profits of the said 4 mannors during her natural
life, without waste, and after her decease I will
the said Feoffees do make a state of the mannor
of Dane* unto John Fogge, my son, to have and.

* Dane Court in Tilmanstone.

126 History of Ashford.

to hold to him and to the heirs of his body coming,
and for default of such heirs all like remaynthers
to be made of and in the same as before is
declared of the mannors of Rep ton, Cheriton, and
Stone, and as for the mannors of Oven,^ Hepyn-
ton, and Krykkessalef , and my lands purchased of
Broke beside Kiykkessale with the appurtenances,
after the decease of my said wife, I will they be
delivered unto Thomas Fogge, my son, with such
remaynther as before declared. Also, as touching
my mannor of Tonford| with the appurtenances, I
will that my Feoffeis of and upon the same do
make a state thereof immediately after my decease,
unto the said Thomas, my son, with such remayn-
ther as afore is assumed and rehersed. Also, I
will that my Feeoffeis being seized of my tenement
in Asshetyford called the Bull, after my decease do
make a state of Fee simple unto my said son John
Fogge, and where I have purchased of John Brett
the revertion of a Tenement and certain lands in
Asshetyford foresaid, I will that my Feoffeis, to
whom the said revertion is granted, immediately

• Ovens-court in Selling.

t Crixall in Staple.

X Tonford in Thanington.

Will of Sir yohn Fogge. 127

after my decease, and after the death of Margery
Walton, moder unto the said John Brett, do make
a state of the same Tenement and lands unto iiij
of the most trustiest and discreet dwellers in the
said Parish of Asshetyford, so always that none of
my children, ne eny of their heirs, be any of the
iiij, to the intent that the whole Revenues coming
of the said Tenements and Lands on the necessary
reparations and Rents going out of the same be
paid yearly to the Wardens of the said Church for
the time being, to be applied by the same Wardens
in and about the reparations of the said Church
where most need shall be. Also, I will that the
Wardens for the time being of the revenues of the
same shall find Two Tapres of a Pound a piece
upon the great Candlestick in the Quere. To
brenne every high double fest most princapull in
the year, and Also Three & iiijd to be paid to the
Vicar and his Successors for an Obite yearly for
me, to be done in the said Church for evmore.
Also, I will That whensoever two of the said Four
dwellars decease that the other Two en living Do
make a state to iiij other Dwellars of the same
Parish most trusty and of sadness^ other then any
of my children and their heirs, and so for ever-
more to be continued to the Intent aforesaid.

128 History of Ashford.

Also, I will that after the decease of my said wife,
All such Lands as She hath Time of her Life in
Romeney Msh shall be departed evenly between
my said sons with such Remaynther as is afore
declared, and my Feoffeis do make a state of
them Severally, provided alway that if any of my
said Daughters be married by my Life or by my
permission after my decease, so as She so
married be preferred by Reason of her marriage of
the possessions of her Husband to the Value of
Twenty Marks yearly for Time of her Life, that
then the said Cli ordained by this my Will for her
marriage be not paid to her so married ne for her
marriage* But that myn executors and Admin-
istrators of my Goods be thereof utterly acquitted
and discharged, and in Case that any of my said
Daughters decease before she be married or
preferred by her marriage, as afore is said* That
then myn executors be discharged of payment of
any money for her marriage so deceased, and
furthermore' I will my said daughters not married
be in the Governance and Guiding of my said
Wife. Also, I will that the Profits of the Monyage
of the son and heir of Humphry Stafford be
received by myn executors, wherefore I will an
Hundred Marks be kept for the Susstentation and

Will of Sir John Fogge. 129

finding of my said Three Daughters unto the time
that shall happe them to be married and the
Remanent to be kept in helping and discharging of
the said 300 pound, so as the Lands designed for
the same may the sooner be discharged. And as
touching the Mannors and Lands of Walmer and
Mongehim with the Appurtenances. After my
Decease and after the recovery of the Same, I will
that XX Marks yearly thereof be paid unto John
Kyriell and Remanent of the Revenues thereof
to be received by myn Executors in helping of
the payment of the said 300 pound, so as the
Mannors and Lands assigned for the same may ,
the sooner be discharged to the accomplishment of
this my will, and then a State Taile of the said
Mannors, Lands, and Tenements, with their
Appurtenances, be made to Thomas Fogge, my
son, with such Remaynther as is afore rehersed.
Also, I will as for my Stuff that longeth unto my
Chapel at Repton, that it remain unto my son
John Fogge, except that My Wife shall have
thereof a Vestment of Velvet, a Masseboke, which
she will chuse of the Twain, Two Basenes of
Silver for the Altar, a Crosse of Silver and Gylt,
Two Crewets Silver and Gylt, and a Sakeryng
Bell Gylt, which Basenes, Crosse, Crewets, and

K

130 History of Ashford.

Sakeiyng Bell I will my said wife shall have Time
of her Life, if She live Sole, and after her
decease to remain unto my said Son, or to his
heirs then being alyve to th' use of the said
Chapel ; and if she be married, I will they be left
to the said Chapel forthwith. Also, I will that my
said son John Fogge shall have a Standing Cup
gylt with a white splaid eagle standing upon the
covring, and the Residue of all my goods and
cattails above not disposed, I will my wife have
them to do and dispose therewith at her will and
pleasure, whether she will keep it to her self, or
^give it to any other person or persons. And for
the execution of this my will and Testament I
ordain and make the Reverend Fader iii God
Master James Goldewelle* Bishop of Northwich,

* Every inhabitant of Ashford is fiuniliar with the toll of
trees, about a mile to the west of Great Chart Church, from
which a beautiful view of the surrounding country may be
obtained, and which marks the site of the old manor-house of
Goldwell. But everyone does not know that here was the seat
of a £unily who were great bene£eictors to the parish they inha-
bited and who gave two bishops to the unreformed Church of
England. One of these was me ''Executor" named in the
will James Goldwell was bom at Goldwell, and educated at
All Souls' College, Oxford. Having been appointed Dean of
Salisbury and Secretary to Edward IV he was in 1472 promoted
to the Bishoprick of Norwich, where he erected the present noble
clerestoiv and roof of the cathedral choir. He also repaired
Chart Cnurch and founded the south chancel — ^the chapel of the
Holy Trinity, in the east window of which his portrait was for-

Will of Sir John Fogge. 131

Dame Alys Fogge, Master Nicholas Goldewell,
John Ffyneux,f and SirJ Thomas Willmote, vicar

merly to be seen, kneeling, and surrounded by golden wells.
He aied in 1498, and was buried in Norwich Cathedral, where
an altar-tomb, enriched on the sides with ornamental panels,
remains to his memory. ** The figure upon it, which has been
painted and gilt, is interesting in spite of much injury, and is re-
markable as being the only instance of the monumental effigy of
a Bishop prior to the Reformation, in which the cappa pluvialis
or processional cope is represented as the outward vestment in-
stead of the casula or chesible." Thomas Goldwell, also bom at
Goldwell, was one of the most persistent adherents of the Romish
Church. He was a member of All Souls* College, Oxford,
where he was distinguished by his attainments in astronomy and
mathematics. Being attainted with Cardinal Pole in 1538, he
liyed abroad during the reigns of Henry VIH and Edward VI,
but was raised by Mary in 1555 to the see of St Asaph. Soon
after he induced the Pope to renew the indulgences granted to
those who went on pilgrimages to St. Winifred s Well, at Holy-
well, in Flintshire. Refusing to make the required compliance
on the accession of Elizabeth, he was deprived, *'and conveying
himself away beyond the seas " presented himself at the Council
of Trent in 1562. The remainder of his life was for the most
part passed at Rome, " where he lived very pontifically among
the Theatines," and was appointed by the Pope to baptize Jews
there and to ordain Englishmen who should fly thither for
religion's sake. In 1580 it was proposed that Bishop Goldwell
should go over to England to perform episcopal offices for the
English Romanists. For this purpose he proceeded as far as
Rheims ; but his strength failing him he returned to Rome, and
died soon afterwards, being more than 80 years old. He was
esteemed among the Englishmen at Rome "a most useful person,
and was had in great veneration for his learning." At Raven-
na, in the convent of the Theatines is a picture of Goldwell,
with an inscription styling him " Fidei confessor conspicuus."

t John Fineux was probably the well-known lawyer, subse-
quently Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench.

t "Sir" was the title commonly applied to the parochial
deigy at that day, but did not imply knighthood.

132 History of Ashford,

of Asshetyford, 111301 Executors, and I will that the
said Master Nicholas shall have of my goods 408.^
John Fyneux £u} Six Shillings and eightpence,
and his Cost whensoever he ride or go for me in
the accomplishment of this my will, and the said
Vicar 40s., and also I will that such Store as is
delivered to the Farmer of any mannor that I have
shall remain to the mannor to th' use of him that
shall have it, and as for the Store of the Mannor of
Tonford, I will that John Fogge deliver them when
he depart to th* use of my Son Thomas Fogge,
sixteen quarters of wheat, twenty-five quarters of
Barley, and 50 Coppis of Podware. Also, I will
that Thomas Fogge my Son have all my instru-
ments of Musick, except a pair of Clanecords, and
a pair of ebony symbalis (?) the which I will
that my son John Fogge have with God*s Blessing
and Mine, and the said Thomas both, so that they
pturd [sic] ne let not my said will to be ex-
ecuted. In witness whereof to this my last will
I have set my sign manuell. furthermore I will
that John Fogge, My Son, shall bear and pay all
and all manner of Costs, Expences, and Charges
for the Recovere of the Manners of Oestynhanger,
Walmer, and Mongham, with their Appurtenances,
toward the which charge I will that he shall
receive of myn executors £50, and after the

Will of Sir John Fogge. 133

recovery so had I will the said John, my son, shall
have the said Manor of Ostynhanger, with such
remaynther as is afore declared, bearing and
paying the charges of the Annuity of xx marks
unto John Kyriell during his natural Life, this my
said will before otherwise ordained notwithstand-
ing. Furthermore I will that Dame Alys, my
wife, shall have during her life the Moneys being
and Increasing upon the purchased Lands lying in
the Highway beside Hoak at [sic] with free
coming thereto and free going for her and her
assigns to take and feche when it shall please her
at all times. During the said Time also I will my
said wife shall have a Parcell of Land and Wood
Called Sagvale, containing by estimation Thirty
Acres, which I purchased of William Brockman,
during her Life, and to have her fewell therein and
if it not sufficient for fewell for her expence then I
will she have her fewell in Kingsnorth during the
said Time, and after her decease I will my sons
depart the sd. Parcell of Land and Wood called Sag-
uaill with the appurtenances evenly between them,
my Feoffies of and in the same make them a state,
severally with such Remaynther as is afore declared,
and each of them to keep the clousure of his part.
Proved the day of 1490.

William Churchill, Regr.

134 History of Ashford.

INDBNTURB BY SIR JOHN FOOGB'S WIDOW.

This Indenture made ye z8th day of August, in ye
3rd year of ye Reign of King Henry 8th, between
Dame Alice ffogge, widdow, on ye one part, and
John Roper, Esq., Edward Mongeham, Clerk, John
Tuck, Gent., Richard Woodward, Edward Wood-
ward, Henry Esharst, Robert Eastley, — Basely,
John Esharst, Austin Linch, and Wm. ffright, and
their heirs, on ye other part, witnesseth yt whereas
ye said Dame Alice ffogg, by her deed bearing date
of these presents, hath enfeoffed ye said John
Roper, &c., of and in a messuage, two acres of
land, and two acres of meadow, lying and being in
ye Town and Parish of Eshford, to have and to
hold ye said messuage, &c., to ye said John Roper,
&c. The intent and condition of 3re said ffeoffment
is this — ^That the said John Roper, &c., stand and
be seized of ye said messuage, &c., to ye use of
Richard Smith to y® end and term of 60 years, under
form following : i.e,, that the said Richard Smith shall
keep and maintain by ye space and term aforesaid

Indintun by Alia Fogge. 135

yearly in ye church of Eshford, at ye time and day
of ye Obbytte yt is done for Sir John ffogge,
Knight, late husband of ye said Dame Alice, an
obbitte of los, 6d. for ye soule of Sir John ffogge,
Knight, and for ye soule of me Alice his wife, for
the soules of William Hawte and Joan his wife,
our children's soules, and all our friends' soules
that be past and to come, to be distributed under
form following: To y« Master of ye College of
Eshford for ye time being for Mass and Dyrge by
note, to be paid according to y^ commendable
custome of y« country, viiid. Also, to one Priest
of ye College, if any such there be, at y* said Time
for like service to be done, viiid. Also to yo
Morrow-Mass Priest, for like service to be done,
viiid. Also, to two children of ye College afore-
said, to everyone of them for helping of y^ Obit,
iid. Also, to two Clarks of ye College, if so many
there be, to every of them, viiid. Alto to y« Clark
of ye Parish for Ringing y« Great Bell for ye space
of ye 3 Masses, xd. If lack be of ye said Master,
&c., then ye said money shall be distributed to
other certain Priests, they doing y« service by
ye discretion of my ffeoffees.

Also, ye said Richard Smith, at ye said Obit
yearly shall distribute to two other honest and

136 History of Ashfwd.

«

discreet Priests for Masses and Dyrges then and
there to be had. To every of them, vid. Also, at
ye said Obit yearly to 13 poor people of Eshford,
to every of them, id. Also, in Ale^for ye said poor
people, xiid. Also, in Bread for ye same, vii<^.
Also, in Sothen Beef for ye same, xiid. Also, at
every Mass to offer, id. Also, for ye waste of Six
Tapers yearly at ye Obit, xiid.

If Richard Smith default, then ye {feoffees to
enter and put out Smith, and receive ye profits.
And after 60 years, if no default in Smith, then
ye ffeoffees to be seized of ye said messuage, &c.
And ye rest of ye profits of ye said messuage, &c.,
if any be, after ye term of ye said Smith, to be
bestowed about charitable works of ye said Church
of Ashford. After ye said term ye Churchwardens
to have ye disposal of ye Obit, and every of them
to have for their labour, viiid. If ye Master of
ye College be not content with ye said Obit,
then Smith and ffeoffees to keep ye Obit some
where else in like manner as in ye church of
Eshford.

In witness whereof, &c.

The Messuage and lands after 60 years to
remain wholly to the Church for ever. The
Copy-hold garden on y^ south part of y« churqh-

Indenture by Alia Fogge. 137

yard,* holden at ye will of ye Lord, after Smith's
decease a surrender thereof to be made to two of
ye honest men of y© Parish aforesaid, to remain
-with ye house for ever.

This Indenture and the Will of Sir John Fogge
are taken from copies in the parish chest, of which
the churchwardens for the time being have the
custody.

* The hotise and garden on the south side of the church-
]rard have long been lost, but the other benefactions still remain
in the possession of Ashford Church. The obit has, of course^
been discontinued since the reformation.

138 History of Ashford.

EXTRACTS FROM Mr. FURLEY'S LECTURE,

From the interesting lecture entitled " Home
Reflections, or Ashford, Past and Present, by
Robert Furley," I am kindly allowed to make the
following extracts : —

" POPULATION.

z8oi 2,151 1841 3,082

1811 2,532 1851 5,007

1821 2,273 '^^^ 6,950

1831 2,809

Thus it will be seen that the population in i86x
was more than three times as large as in 1801, and
that there was no material change between 181 x
and 1841, and that it was more than doubled
between 1841 and i86x.

*' Our mornings are still ushered in by the five
o'clock bell, and while the shades of evening close
around us, the Conqueror's badge of servitude,
'the solemn curfew,* may still be heard. The
morning bell is, no doubt, useful to the mechanic,

Mr. Furley's Lecture. 139

but thirty years ago it was equally useful to the
enterprising individual who contemplated a journey
to London and back on the same day ; for he had,
at the sound of this bell, to shake off his drowsiness,
and prepare for a journey in Mr. Francis Pack-
ham's van to Maidstone. This started about six
and the proprietor did all in his power to amuse
his passengers during their tedious journey. At
Maidstone you were taken on by coach to London,
and arrived there (if the roads were good) by about
one o'clock and had two hours to transact business
in London: at three you returned* the same way,
and reached Ashford about ten at night, thus
devoting fourteen hours in travelling to gain two
hours in London. What would be said of this in
these go-a-head days ? About ten o'clock the old
Folkestone coach made its appearance at the
Saracen's Head on its way to London, and many
were the heads thrust out of doors and windows to
behold one of the great events of the day. There
were two coaches on the road, one leaving London,
and the other Folkestone, daily; the coach from
London reached Ashford about four, and as the
fiery chesnuts came round the Castle comer, many
an idler rushed to the Saracen's Head for the
latest intelligence from the great city, and to get a

X40 History of Ashford,

sight of one solitary copy of Tlie Times for the use
of the whole town. The drivers of these coaches,
(poor Richardson and Wallace) were great favour-
ites with the public, but like most favourites, they
were spoilt, and when their daily occupation was
gone, they were soon forgotten. Each mid-day
witnessed the arrival of the different vans from the
cross-roads, and as they occupied the space under
the Public Rooms, some little bustle was oc*
casioned thereby. The Cattle Market, then held
in the town on the first and third Tuesday, was
the most important event of the week.

" Next in importance were the proceedings of
the select vestry. From the close of the war in
1815 to the year 1818 a number of unemployed,
idle, and dissolute men sought parochial relief, and
Ashford soon felt the effect of it. The result
was that in the year 1818 Ashford, with a popula-
tion of 2500, expended no less than ;^3)450 on its
poor, of which £1,7.12 was expended in weekly
relief. This state of things aroused the rate-
payers, and a select vestry was formed, who met
weekly and by their steady and unwearied exer-
tions they had, when the New Poor Law came
into operation, reduced both these items to less
than one-third — ^the amount expended in that year

Mr, FurUy's Lecture, 141

(1834-5) being only £"1, 160 and the weekly relief
only £"358. Our old parish workhouse stood at
the end of New-rents, adjoining the fire-engine
house, where, weekly, from the year 181 8 to 1835,
the members of the select vestry regularly at-
tended. Sir Edmund Head, the assistant poor-
law commissioner, was present at one of these
meetings, and took notes of what passed, which
he afterwards published in the Quarterly Review
in a paper on " English Charity." The late
Mr. Richard Greenhill was the chairman on the
occasion (and a better one could not have been
found, as he was foremost to maintain the honour
of his native town), Mr. Richard Thorpe and Mr.
William Morley were the overseers. Of the six-
teen members then present only Mr. Bayley, Mr.
R. Lewis, Mr. B. Thorpe, and Mr. T. Thurston
now reside in the town. In the article referred
to Sir Edmund Head writes — * The system of
administering relief to the poor in the parish and
town of Ashford is so creditable to East Kent, it
has produced such beneficial effects, and it offers,
such valuable instruction to the Poor Law Com-
missioners, as well as to the country in general,
that it may be useful to lay before the public a
short account of it.' It would be tedious to detail

242 History of Ashford.

here the proceedings and mode of dealing with
the applicants for relief as reported by Sir
Edmund. The most scrutinizing enquiries he
states were made, and in several cases attempts at
imposition were detected, exposed, and the claim
refused. * Every applicant,' he continues, * had
the advantage of appearing before a well-educated
jury of practical men, who, as far as he was
capable of judging, seemed determined to admin-
ister justice with mercy. The moral effect of this
sensible, humane, and business-like system it is
almost impossible for anyone, however deeply he
may have considered the subject, to calculate.'
He closes his remarks by stating, ^It is almost
needless to add that if every parish had bestowed
the same attention on their poor as the parish of
Ashford, the Poor Law Amendment Act might
instantly be repealed, and its commissioners, their
secretary, and their assistants, scattered like chaff
before the wind ; but I regret that the parish of
Ashford is but an oasis in the desert.' As an
honourable distinction to the town. Sir Edmund
Head, in forming the East and West Ashford
Unions, omitted it from both, and recommended
the Commissioners not to disturb the select vestry.
The inhabitants, however, soon petitioned to be

Mr. Furley's Lecture. 143

united to the West Ashford Union. The first
guardians were the late Mr. William Walter and
Mr. Mark Dorman. Mr. .Thorpe, sen., and Mr*
Lepine subsequently filled the office ; and when
Mr. Thorpe retired in 1863 a dinner was given to
him for having served the town in various ways
for forty years. Ashford is now represented by
three guardians — Messrs. Dorman, Norwood, and
Greenhill.

** All the different markets of the town, though
originally chartered as far back as the reign of
Henry III., were deemed of but little note until
the latter part of the last century, when increased
importance and value were attached to the grazing
land in Romney Marsh, and the different ap-
proaches to the town were materially improved
by means of hard roads. This led to the establish-
ment of the stock market in 1784. The great
promoter of this movement, as well as of the
improvement of the roads, was the late Mr.
Henry Creed, to whom a monument exists on the
the wall of the south chancel.

"The Ashford Bank was established by the
Messrs. Jemmett in the year 179 1, and their
place of business was at Mr. Wilks's pres-
ent surgery, in North-street, the firm being

144 History of Ashford.

Jemmett^ Whitfeld, and Jemmett. Then it was
removed to the late Mr. W. Jemmett's residence
where Mr. Burra, sen., now resides. It was after-*
wards removed to the house where Mr. Dowsett
now carries on his business. The bank was closed,
except on market days, between the hours of one
and two, and only one individual was then required
to transact the whole business of the town. The
late Mr. Simonds was the clerk and manager for
several years, and went to his dinner at one o'clock.
One of the most daring robberies of that period
(for even robbers have daily increased in skill) wa&
perpetrated in the 3rear 1827 and the offenders
escaped detection. It is supposed that some
London thieves had by false keys satisfied them-
selves that when the bank was closed every even-
ing, the property was removed for the night to a
strong room, from the shop now occupied by Mr.
Dowsett to the late Mr. G. E. Jemmett*s house
{the present place of business), but that it was
not removed in the middle of the day, and that if
they were not to be foiled, they must enter the
premises while Mr. Simonds was at dinner, and
this was at last effected and everything of any
value was taken away. The iron safe in which
the property was kept was again closed by the

Mr. Furley's Lecture. 145

the thieves and a ring put over the pipe of the
lock ; thus the time occupied in forcing open the
safe enabled the thieves to escape with greater
ease. By a compromise the property, except the
cash, was subsequently recovered.

"There was another private bank, which was
carried on by the late Mr. Edward Stoddart up to
the year 1829 at Dr. Beet's present surgery. The
late Mr. John Hutton was a member of the firm.

" The ornamental building for the Billiard Club
at the comer of Park-street was erected in 1867 ;
and I suppose almost the last, but not to my mind
the least important recent event which I have to
record is the opening of the public Swimming
Bath, which is calculated, as I believe, to be of
essential service to the rising generation."

146 History of Ashford.

ON THE STOUR,

AS CONNECTED WITH THE PARISH OF ASHFORD.

Communicated by Mr. Thurston.

The river Stour, which forms a considerable
feature in this parish, divides it into three very
unequal portions. The largest, in which the town
stands, contains about 1700 acres, and eictends to
Repton and Sandyhurst. The second, consisting
of 700 acres, is the Beaver portion, and lies to the
south of the two branches, whose confluence is at
the bridge on the road to Hythe. The third,
containing about 300 acres, is chiefly occupied by
the East Stour farm and the railway factory.

The Western Stour has several sources, of
which the principal are at East Lenham and
Westwell church. It supplies nearly twenty mills
with water-power before it enters this parish at
Bucksford-mill, and after passing through several
rich meadows it formerly joined the eastern branch
at Pole-bay, near the railway station, but some

Tht River Stour.

H7

centuries ago it was diverted into a new channel,
called the Lord's-cut, passing the Whist to the
Ashford water mill, which then belonged to the
Lord of the Manor. By this means the head of
water is held back about a mile and a fall of some
five feet obtained, by which the breast wheel of
the mill is propelled. The western branch here
falls into the eastern, which rises at Postling
church, and after receiving tributary streams from
Lympne, Quarrington, and Kingsnorth, enters this
parish near the railway factory. The united
waters then pass under the bridge at the mill.
This bridge is a fine arch of 35 feet span, and was
built by the county in 1683, as appears from the
following inscription on a stone inserted in the
southern face : —

D a

THIS BRIDGE WAS REPAIRED

AT THE CHARGE OF THE WHOLE

COUNTY AN.DI. 1683 Sr NICHO

LAS TOKE KNt & WILLIAM

ANDREWS & WILLIAM RANDOLPH

ESQres COMMISSIONERS AND

THOMAS ADDS, THOMAS BIGG

& THOMAS ANDREWS

WORKMEN.

148 History of Ashford.

At the top of the stone, above the inscription,
are the three shields of arms of the three com-
missioners. Sir Nicholas Toke, of Godinton,
knight, was Sheriff of Kent in 1693. Mr. Andrews
was of Bucksford. '* Thomas Crispe, of Goud-
hurst, conveyed Bucksford by sale to Andrews,
and Alexander Andrews sold it in 1690." William
Randolph, of Burton, in Kennington, justice of
the peace in the reigns of Charles II., James II.,
William and Mary, Anne, and George I., bom
1634, died nth March, 1715, aged 81.

History says that the bridge formerly consisted
of four stone arches, for which the present single
arch is an excellent substitute. In 1834 the
trustees of the turnpike road from Ashford to
Hythe removed the four arches by which the foot-
path was raised above the floods which here over-
flowed the roadway and erected a second bridge.
It has a span of 24 feet and is also under the super-
intendence of the county. At the same time
another channel was cut through a small inclosure
known as the Martyr's fleld — ^the scene probably of
the martyrdoms in the Marian persecution already
mentioned — which had been a fellmonger*s yard and
subsequently the timber yard of Messrs. Bridger.

In 1858 the trustees of the Hythe road widened

The River Stout. 149

the roadway over the bridge by 10 feet — on which
occasion the inscription previously given was
brought to light. When the second bridge was
built in 1834 the old way to the ford — which was
at a trifling distance to the east of the bridge — was
found at a very low level, and several curiosities
were discovered, such as coins, antique horse-
shoes, &c. The sunken way by which the ford is
approached from Willesborough shows how many
generations have trodden in the same path, and
like indications near the other entrances testify
that for centuries Ashford has been the focus of
intercommunication and the nucleus of the
district.

The river leaves the parish at Bybrook, where it
receives the waters of a stream which rises near
Sandyhurst, and subsequently supplies the By-
brook ponds and an over-shot mill-wheel.

I may add that the land stretching from the
Wesleyan chapel to the Church-yard, on the north
side of Tufton-street, was formerly the Bull-close,
and is so named in the court-rolls of the manor ;
that the main thoroughfare from Maidstone and
Chart in the days of the pack-horses was rather
by New-rents than New-street ; and that when the
new roads were laid out on the Jemmett estate a

150 History of Ashford.

number of ancient graves were discovered in the
neighbourhood of Queen-street, with a skeleton
and armour, as well as the very curious glass
vessel already described in this history.

Arms of Aihford. 151

ARMS OF ASHFORD.

The formation of a Local Board rendered a
" common seal" necessary, and a design, of which
we give an engraving, prepared by a gentleman
of the town for a public occasion, was accordingly
adopted and duly sanctioned. The seal, therefore,
though not authorized by the College of Heralds,
has a certain authority, and fairly represents the
Arms of Ashford as they should be. The allusions
are very happy and combine with considerable
success the various sources of the town's pros-
perity. The coat is thus heraldically blazoned : —

152 History of Ashford.

GuleSf on a fess argent three annulets sabUf in
chief a Kentish horse rampant, of the second, in
base a locomotive engine, or, inscribed " Invicta.*'
The field gules charged with the white horse is
that traditionally ascribed to Hengist, the supposed
founder of the Kentish monarchy. The fess and
annulets are taken from the armorial bearings of
Sir John Fogge, the greatest benefactor the
parish ever knew. The proud Kentish motto
" Invicta" naturally formed a name for the steam
engine, which points to the connection of the
town with the South Eastern Railway and its
branches — a connection from which Ashford dates
its progressive increase and present importance
in the county. Thus we have, tria juncta in uno^
the Ashford of Saxon, of mediaeval, and of modem
days.

Addenda, 153

ADDENDA.

RISE OP ASHFORD.

In a note to his folio edition, under the head of
Chart Magna, Hasted writes ''The inhabitants
have a tradition that Great Chart was once a far
more considerable place than at present, having
had a great street of houses on the east side, in
the road which goes up by Singleton to the top of
the hill, where there have been many houses in the
memory of man. The ruins of the market-house
were to be seen in the field where the fair is now
kept, over against the church, which probably waa
but a kind of a chapel when this town was burnt
down by the Danes, and then Ashford began to
rise, and grow out of the ruins of it."

LUCAS.

In the list of the gentry of this county returned
by the Commissioners in the twelfth year of
Henry VI., 1434, as given by Fuller in his

154 History of Ashford.

"Worthies," occurs the name of << William Lucas,
of Essheford."

DR. RUTTON.

Page 6. — On further enquiry, I find that I am
mistal^n in speaking of the house now occupied
by Messrs. Startup and Hyland, and which about
thirty years ago was the property of Mr. Henry
Loftie Rutton, as having belonged to Dr. Rutton.
The Doctor's residence was what is now the Ash-
ford Bank, where his coat of arms may still be
seen in one of the windows.

WOODWARDS OF BROOKB PLACE.

Page 7. — ^As the Woodwards were so long con-
nected with Ashford, and occupied a high position
among the residents of the town, I have extracted
from the Registers the entries relating to them and
have given their pedigree.

Baptisms.

1572. Oct. 5. Danyell Woodward.

z6o6. May 25. Edward, son of Edward Wood-
ward.

z 609-10. Jan. 14. Dorithye, daughter of Edward
Woodward, gent.

1644. April 26. Herbert Woodward, the sonne
of Edward and Anne Woodward, was borne and
baptised. May 6.

Addenda. 155

1646. July 8. Frances, daughter of Edward and
Anne Woodward.

1650. John, son of Edward and Anne Wood-
wardy bom 8 and bap. 19 May.

1683. Aug. 30. ffrancis, son of Francis and
Elinor Woodward.

1686. June 28. Martha, daughter of Herbert
and Elizabeth Woodward.

i688« Sept« 17. John, son of Herbert and Eliza-
beth Woodward.

1690. Oct. 7. Martha, daughter of Herbert and
Elizabeth Woodward.

Marriages.

157Z. April 22. William Padnall and Susan
Woodward.

1700. July 23. Robert White, widower, and
Margaret Woodward, widow, both of this parish.

Burials.

1570. October 16. Margaret Woodward, the
daughter of William Woodward, was buried.

1578. Aug. 7. Margaret Woodward, the wifFe of
Willm. Woodward, gentilman, was buried.

1585. Julie 18. William Woodward, gentilman,
was buried.

i6x6. June 10. Edward Woodward, gent.,
householder, buried.

156 History of Ashford.

1618. Aug. II. William Woodward, gent.,
buried.

1624-5. ^^^- 2^- ^^3* Bli^abeth Woodward,
widdowe, buried.

1628. Oct. 6. Mrs. Elizabeth Woodward,
buried.

1639-40. Jan. 29. Mr. Reynold Woodward, gent.

1664. Sept. 9, Anne, wife of Mr. Edward
Woodward.

1678. Nov. 14. Anne, wife of Mr. Herbert
Woodward.

1680. Oct. 2. Edward Woodward, gent.

1686. Oct. 12. Martha, daughter of Mr. Herbert
Woodward.

1700. Nov. 3- Herbert Woodward, gent.

1702. July 13. Martha, daughter of Herbert
Woodward.

1708. July 13. ifrances Woodward.

1720. April 12. Samuel Woodward.

1757. Sept. 26. Mr. John Woodward.

Seat — Brooke Place, Ashford, which the last
mentioned re-built.

Dame Alice Fogge, in an indenture dated 15 12,
mentions Richard Woodward — ^whether or no of
this family I cannot tell.

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158 History of Ashford.

SIR SIMON BURLEY.

Page 17. — Of this Sir Simon de Burley, who
was for a time short lord of the Manor of Ashford,
I have collected the following particulars. Lingard
says, '' He had belonged to the court of Edward
III., had been selected by the Black Prince as
guardian to Richard II., and had negotiated the
marriage between his Sovereign and Anne of
Bohemia. He was attached to the king as to his
son; and the king loved and revered him as a
father." He had, however, rendered himself
obnoxious to the Duke of Gloucester, the King's
uncle, in whose power Richard then was, and his
death was resolved upon. " Richard, " continues
Lingard, '' earnestly solicited Gloucester to spare
him ; but received for answer, that if he meant to
keep his crown, he must consent to the execution
of his favourite. The queen on her knees seconded
the prayer of her husband ; but neither her rank
nor beauty, her tears nor entreaties, could soften
the heart of the tyrant. When the parliament re-
assembled the enquiry was resumed; Richard
obstinately maintained that Burley was innocent ;
and by refusing his assent for three weeks averted
the fate of his friend. At length, on an occasion
when the king, and the lords who supported him.

Addenda, 159

were absent, the opposite party resolved that one
out of the thirteen counts in the impeachment had
been brought home to the prisoner. He was
called in, and immediately condemned on the
vague charge of having conspired with other
traitors to compass the death of those who had
established the late commission of government.
He suffered the same day (5 May, 1388,) and the
only indulgence which he could obtain was a com-
mutation of the more ignominious part of the
punishment into decapitation." Stowe calls Sir
Simon '<an intollerable proud man and great
oppressor of the poor." Froissart represents him
in a more favourable light as ^' a gentle knight and
of strong good sense." His account of the circum-
stances preceding his death is so life-like that I
am tempted to give it in full — "Sir Simon Burley
was charged with defalcations to the amount of
250,000 francs (£10,000, equal perhaps to £200,000
of our money.) When called upon to account for
what had become of it, he cast the blame on the
Archbishop of York and Sir William Neville, saying
he had never acted but with them, and in conjunc-
tion with the king's chamberlains ; but those,
when examined excused themselves and flung the
whole fault on him. The Duke of Ireland said to

i6o History of Ashford,

Sir Simon privately — " I understand you are to be
arrested and sent to prison until you shall pay the
sum you are charged with. Do not dispute the
matter, but go whither they may order; I will
make your peace with the king, though they had
all sworn to the contrary. You know the constable
of France owes me 40,000 francs for the ransom
of John of Blois, and this sum he will shortly pay ;
I will offer the amount to the commissioners,
which, for the moment, will satisfy them, but the
king is sovereign ; he will pardon you all, for the
balances must be paid to him and to none other.'*
** If I did not depend," replied Sir Simon de
Burley, "that you would strongly support me with
the king, and assist me personally in this matter,
I would cross the sea and go to the king of
Bohemia. I should be well received there, and
remain for a time until all this bustle were blown
over." " I will never forsake you," said the Duke
of Ireland ; " are we not companions, and equally
implicated? You must ask time for repa3nnent.
I know well that you can pay, when you please, in
ready money 100,000 francs. Do not fear death,
for they will never push matters so far as that;
and before Michaelmas things shall have a
different turn from what these lords think ; let me

Addenda, X62

only have the king in my power, and I will have
him, for all that he now does he is forced to. We
must satisfy these cursed Londoners and put an
end to all this discontent they have raised against
us and our friends." Sir Simon Burley put a little
too much confidence in these words of the Duke
of Ireland, and presented himself before the com-
missioners when called upon. They said, *' Sir
Simon, you have been a knight who has done
honour to our country, and were greatly beloved
by the late Prince of Wales. You and the Duke
of Ireland have been the principal ministers of
the king. We have carefully examined all your
accounts that have been laid before us, and must
tell you they are neither fair nor honourable, which
has displeased us for the love we bear yo\i. We
have therefore unanimously resolved that you be
sent to the Tower of London, there to be confined
until you shall have re-paid, in this chamber, ac-
cording to our orders, the sum you have received
for the king and realm, and for which, from the
examination of the treasurer, you have never
accounted ; the sum amounts to 250,000 francs.
Now have you anything to say in your defence ?''
Sir Simon was much disconcerted, and said, ** My
lords, I shall willingly obey, as it is proper I

M

r

162 History of Ashford,

should, your commands, and go whither you may
please to send me. But I entreat that I may have
a secretary allowed me to draw out an account of
the great expenses I have formerly been at in
Germany and Bohemia, when negociating the
marriage of our king and lord. If I should have
received too much, grant me, through the king's
grace and your's, that I may have a reasonable
time for repa)rment." "To this we agree," replied
the lords, and Sir Simon Burley was then con-
ducted to the Tower. He was mortally hated by
the king's uncles and the commons of England.
The king did everything in his power to deliver
him from prison during the time he resided at
Sheene (i,e. Richmond), but the commissioners
being determined to oppress him, dissembled, and
said they could not as yet set him at liberty, for
his accounts were not closed. The king, accom-
panied by the Duke of Ireland, journeyed towards
Wales, by way of Bristol; and wheresoever he
went he was followed by the queen and all the
ladies and damsels of her court. Although the
king of England had left London his uncles there
remained with their advisers. You have often
heard that, when any disorder is in the head, all
the other members of the body are affected by it.

Addenda. 163

and that this sickness must be purged away by
some means or other. I say this because the
Duke of Ireland was in such favour with the king
that he managed him as he pleased, and governed
him at will. Sir Simon Burley was also one of
the principal advisers; and between them both
they ruled, for a long time, king and kingdom.
They were suspected of having amassed very
large sums of money, and it was rumoured they
had sent great part of it for safety to Germany.
It had also come to the knowledge of the king, his
uncles, and the rulers of the principal towns in
England, that great cases and trunks had been
secretly embarked from Dover castle in the night-
time, which were said to contain this money sent
fraudulently abroad by them to foreign countries, in
consequence of which the kingdom was greatly
impoverished of cash. Many grieved much at
this, saying that gold and silver had become so
scarce as to occasion trade to languish. Such
speeches increased the hatred to Sir Simon
Burley, and the commissioners declared they
thought he deserved death. In short, they, on
finishing his accounts, condemned him to suffer
this punishment, instigated thereto by^ a desire to
please the country, and by the Archbishop of

164 History of Ashford,

Canterbury, who related to the lords that Sir
Simon wanted to remove the shrine of St. Thomas
from Canterbury to Dover castle, as he said, for
greater security, at the time the French invasion
was expected ; but it was commonly believed that
he meant to seize it and carry it out of England.
Many, now he was in prison, came forward against
him; and the knight was so overpowered, that
nothing he could say in his defence availed him ;
so that he was carried forth out of the Tower, and
beheaded, as a traitor, in the square before it.
God have mercyon his misdeeds ! Notwithstand-
ing I thus relate his disgraceful death, which I am
forced to by determination to insert nothing but
truth in this history, I was exceedingly vexed
thereat, and personally much grieved ; for in my
youth I had found him a gentle knight, and,
according to my understanding, of great good
sense. When King Richard, who was amusing
himself in Wales, heard of the death of Sir
Simon Burley, he was very wroth; for he had
been one of his tutors and had educated him ; and
he swore it should not remain unrevenged, for he
had been cruelly put to death, and without the
smallest plea of justice. The queen also bewailed
his loss." His attainder was reversed in the

Addenda. 165

following reign — ^a tolerable proof, as his enemies
were then in power, that it had not been deserved.

ALTAR-PIECE.

Page . — "The paper of subscriptions,'* writes
Warren, " for the rebuilding of the Altar coming
some time since to my hands, I will here give a
true copy of it. — ^Whereas the ancient Altar and
Altar-piece of the Parish Church of Ashford
(having been both decent and ornamental, rising
with a fine ascent, and the same railed in after a
decent manner,) were in the time of rebellion in
the reign of our truly pious and late martyred
Sovereign King Charles I., of blessed memory, in
the year of our Lord 1644, sacrilegiously defaced
and removed, and the Altar raized even with the
ground, and some of the materials converted to
their own private uses, by men as well of factious
and rebellious principles and practices as sacrileg-
ious. And to perpetuate this their infamous act
and sacrilegious depredations, the then church-
wardens, Joy Star and William Worsley (two of
the actors in so great and villainous a profanation
and profuse wasters of the church's treasure), had
their names cut in stone which they placed in the
wall, where the ancient Altar-piece stood, as a
monument thereof but is now taken out and broken

z66 History of Aihfori.

to pieces, it being a ahame to our Church that the
names of such men should remain there (already
too long) who under the hypocritical mask and
disguise of abhorring idolatry dared to be guilty
of so bold a sacrilege as to violate God's Altar.
We, therefore, the Parishioners of the Parish of
Ashford and affectionate members of our truly
Apostolical and Established Church of England,
abhorring (as we are bound in duty) so sacrilegious
an act, and to testify our sincerity and due regard
to the order and decent appendices of our Church
and that Place where peace and reconciliation
is made between God and man may no longer
continue as it is now (to our shame) the place of
brawls and contentious disputes of the Parish-
ioners, but that a fair and decent Altar and Altar-
piece, pavement and rails, may be raised and
placed again in its ancient place and order (being
thereunto encouraged and moved by the exemplary
pious offer of a generous contribution by our very
good Lord the Earl of Thanet and the Reverend
Sir George Wheler* and being well assured of the
further pious and concurrent contribution of our
very good Lord Strangford, and divers other

* Sir G. Wheler, ancestor of the present Rev. C. Wheler, of
Otterden, was lessee of the Rectorial Tithes.

Addenda,

167

devout persons of honour and quality, for the
completing so decent an enterprize) have and do
hereby promise to pay the several sums of money
to our several and respective names hereunder
written annext, to encourage and carry on also, so
good and commendable a work.

"Witness our hands, this five and twentieth
day of July, Anno Domini, 1695.

Thanet, Guineas 5 .

W, Nevar

Edw. Boys

Edw. Boys

Robt. Court

John Symmonds

Anthony Irby, i Guinea .

Edward Irby, 2 Guineas •

Church of Rochester

Robt. Hon3nvood, Esq., 2 Guineas

Mr. Mellefont, i Guinea

Mr. John Mascall, half-Guinea

Capt. John Skinner, BaylifF of Lidd

Subscriptions by Parishioners

Sam. Warren, Vic

George Wheler, pd. at London
Charles Wheler

£

5.

d.

s

10

10

I

10

10

I

X

2

2

4

5

2

4

I

2

6

II

3

I

a

10

a

2

r

t68 History of Ashford.

£ 5. d,

John Wade , .2 o

Arthur Apsley , ... z 00

William Clare z 20

John Brett I 00

Richd. Martin ... « z 00

Tho. Lake • zo o

James Pittfi ... z 00

Tho. Jefferay z 00

Walter Rassall 5 o

jTho. Booth ... zo o

Jos. Thomas 5 6

John Tidham z o o

John Handfield » z zo o

Tho. Young z 00

Tho. Barber z 00

James Hodges zoo

Danl. Morton z 00

Wnl. Hilles... : z o o

Joseph Marsh z 00

John Bettenham z 00

Herbert Woodward z 00

Mary Cole zoo

John Fenner ... 2 o o

John Marsh t do

Tho. Sprat *,. ».* zo o

MrSi Sarah Warren * 5 o

Addenda.

169

£ ^- d.

Mrs. Dorothy Warren

••• ••• ••• •

26

Mrs. Bowyer

..100

Tho. Nower

..100

Stephen Atkins

..100

Isaac Brissenden

50

Wm. Harrison

26

Name illegible

50

John Maplisden

50

Wm. Botting

so

Danl. Godfrey

./ 5

Samuel Caistor

10

John Brissenden

fl ••• ••

5

Edmund Botting

2 6

John Reeve, turner ..

2 6

John Ansell

20

John Edwards

10

Robt. Edwards

2

" Besides the several sums before mentioned)
there were five guineas given which are not there
set down, viz* —

" Mr. Daniel Hayes, Vicar of Papworth, son to
Mr. Hayes, Vicar of Ashford, gave i guinea.

"John Hayes, Printer to the University of
Cambridge, i guinea.

*'E\iz, Hayes, wife of Mr. Hayes, printer,
X guinea^

I70 History of Ashford.

'<John Hayes, A.M., Fellow of Queen's CoI].»

Cambridge, half-guinea.

''Mary Hayes, daughter of Mr. Hayes, of
Papworth, half-guinea.

''John Warren, A.M., Fellow of Queen's Cc41.,
Cambridge, i guinea."

" Before the setting-up of the Altar," continues
Warren, "the partition between the chancel and
that part of the church which is under the steeple
consisted chiefly of old-fashioned, strong, carved
work, folding-doors, &c., parti-coloured gre^i^
gold-colour, &c., but &hout the year, 1697, that
partition was taken away in a great measure."
This reads very like the destruction of the remaias
of the rood-screen. "The font stands almost in
the middle of the body of the church. I have
heard that about the time of the great rebellion in
the reign of King Charles I., the font was taken
out of the church and put to a private use, but it
was afterwards restored to the right use again.

»» i

NEW BELLS.

In March, 1763, a subscription was opened for
two new bells. It may interest some of my
readers to observe the names of their forefathers
in the list of those who responded to the a^)eal.

Addenda. 171

£ S' d.
Dr. Rutton 5 5 o

Mr. Hussey 5 5 o

Mr. Norwood 2 2 o

Rev. Mr. Clough 220

Rev. Mr. Greenhill 2 2 o

Rev. Mr. Barrett 220

Mr. Toumay 220

Mr. Young 220

Mr. Thorn 2 2 o

Ed. Scotty Esq. 2 2 o

Mr. Pattenson i x o

Mr. Francklyn i z o

Mr. A. Flint i i o

Mr. CoUer i i o

Mr. Sweetlove i i o

Mr. Cole i i o

Mr. White i i o

Mr.J. Bushell ^ i i o

Mr. Baker, junr r i o

Mr. Atkinson xo 6

Mr. Impett xo 6

Mr. Thos. Apsley i i

Rev. Mr. Hawkins i x o

Mr. Hopkins ... 5 o

Mr. Matson 10 6

Mr. Fagg xo' 6

IJl

History of Ashford

Mr. Walter

£ s. d.

... X z o

Mr. Waterman

... z z o

Mr. G. Patey
Mr. J. Patey
Mr. Elwick

... z z o
... z z o
... z z o

Mr. Rowley
Mr. Bonner

... z z o
zo 6

Mr. Waterman (Feversham)

Mr. Trice, junr. .

Mr. Maylam

Mr. Jno Costeker

... Z Z

5 o

zo 6
zo 6

Mr. Jas. Costeker

...

zo 6

Mr. Step. Costeker
Mr. Bourne

...
...

... 5 6
zo 6

Mr. J. Mascall

...

lo 6

Mr. Wm. Bigg
Mr. Horton

...
. • *

zo 6

... Z Z

Mr. E. Knott

...

zo 6

Mr. Robins

» • *

... z z o

Mr. Pike

• • .

5 o

Mr. J. Powell

• « •

5 o

Mr. Curling
Mr. Gold

* • »

• • •

zo 6
... z z o

Mr. Brown

« • •

... 5 o

Messrs. Coomber

• * .

zo 6

Mr. Harrison

• • •

...'50

Addenda.

Mr. Carpenter
Mr. Tomkin
Mr. Reeve
Mr. Spratt
Mr. Varham
Mr. Paine
Mr. Dunk
Mr. Else
Mr. J. Peirce
Mr. Hammond
Mr. Ingles
Mr. Colegate
Mr. Pussord
Mr. Marshall
Mr. James Flint
Mr. Walsby
Mr. Wanstall
Mr. Maclellan
Mr. Chapman
Mr. Wood
Carriage by land and water,
agreement

outset by

I

73

£

5.

d.

4

5

5

. I

I

. I

I

2

6

5

5

2

6

10

6

. I

I

10

6

lO

6

I

I

10

6

2

6

5

5

2

6

5

17

6

£6g 2 6
Mr. James Tappenden subscribed half-a-guinea,
but refused to pay it.
March, 1763.

174 History of Athford.

APSLBTS, NORWOODS, WHITFBLD8.

In the south chancel is a handsome monument
erected to several members of his family by
Thomas Apsley, Esq., who died in 1736. The
Apsleys held a leading position in the town, and
lived in the large house at the comer of North-
street, now occupied by Mr. B. K. Thorpe. At
the end of the north transept is a monument
erected in 17431 by Edward, their only surviving
son, for John Korwood, gent., of Ashford, and
Mary his wife, six of whose seven children lie with
them in the vault beneath. Though their ascer-
tained pedigree dates from 1620, there seems
reason for supposing that the Norwoods sprung
from one of the branches of the old baronial
family of Northwood, or Northwode, the owners
of large possessions in this county. Hasted
mentions that near the Countess of Athol's brass
is '' a memorial for William Whitfeld, gent., who
died X739> aged 60.*' He was of Bybrook, and
son by his second wife of Francis Whitfeld, Esq.,
of the Thorn-house, Bethersden, where, finely
carved on a handsome chimney-piece of the local
marble, may still be seen their family arms —
Argent y a bend plain between two cottises en-
grailed sahle^ and crest out of a palisado crown

Addenda, 175

argent, a stag's head or. Miles Whitfeld, of
Aldston, in Cumberland, had a son Robert, who,
attracted by the iron-works, removed about i49i»
to Wadhurst, in Sussex, and some thirty years
afterwards, in the reign of Henry VIII., was taken
up on suspicion of being a Scot. This gentleman
was the direct ancestor of the Whitfelds of Can-
terbury, Ashford, and Lewes. One of his repre-
sentatives in this town, Mr. Henry Whitfeld, is
the owner and occupier of Chambers-place — a
residence which in the last century belonged to
Mr. Young, and passed by marriage to the Nor-
woods, from whom it was purchased by the father
of the present proprietor.

PARKHURST.

Page 57. — ^Annexed is a copy of the return
made in 1535 by Richard Parkhurst, vicar, as to
the value of the living. Much of the property
described belonged to the College, and then, or
soon afterwards, found its way into the hands of
the Crown.

From Valor Eccles., 1535.

'* AssHETiSFORD. — ^Thc certificat of Mr. Ric.
P'kherst, vicar there.

First the maner of Hoo, in the
Countye of Sussex, belongyng to the
said vicarege is letten to farme for x — —

176 History of Ashford.

The rents to the said manor
belongyng w* the outlands - - - ix xvj x

The lordship or manor of Preston
Becke Helven, in the countye of
Sussex, worth by yere .... xviij v viij

P*quyfits of courts of bothe lord-
ships, viz., Preston and Hoo - - — v —

The kyng's coUedge in Cambrege
payethe yerly to the said vicarage xiij yj viij

The vicarege of Asshetisford
yerly xx — —

The ground wher the old vicarege
stode* - - — xij —

It*m XXX akers of wood at vijs.
vid. le aker yerly worthe - - - - — x yj

Whereof to be deducted for the
stuard*s fee — x —

It'm for rent to the college of
Hastyngs -. — x-^

For rent to my lord archebishope
of Cant'berye — — xij

It*m to Mr. Morley for rent - - — vi viij

It'm to the rent gatherer - - - — vi viij

•y

• t. e. — The house inhabited by the Vicar previous to the
foundation of the College.

Addenda^ 177

For p'xies paid to the arche-
deacon yerly — vij vj

Summa £lxxij xvjs. viijd. Summa deducted
xijs. xd. Sma de claro, ;^lxx xiiijs. xd. X indq
vij — xvij ob.*

POYNET.

Page 57. — The following letter, written by
Poynet, the most famous of the vicars of Ashford,
when in exile, and another by his widow, are pub-,
lished in the Parker Society's volumes,

Poynet to BuUinger,

" Strasburgh, April 14, 1556.

" Many thanks, most excellent master Bullinger,
are due from us exiles to our Lord God, for
having placed over his church in this calamitous
age such a teacher as yourself. For we perceive
you to be one who is willing to afford every conso-
lation, and who is able to afford very much to the
afflicted servants of Christ yonder. But how
greatly your kind offers towards them have bound
the rest of the English to you, I had rather
imagine than express, lest, in attempting to declare
your acts of kindness towards them, extensive a^

■ ■■■ ■■■■■■■■i»i. I I , ■■■» — — .^ ■ ■ ■ ,__■■■■ ■■■ „ ■ , .1 1,^ pi ■ m' W I 11^

• We print these sums as they are given in the ** Valor ;" Ijut
there is evidently s^ mistake.

178 History of Ash/ord.

they have been, I should seem either to obscure
their greatness by recounting them, or, by treating
of them too lightly, to diminish their importance.
But in speaking of myself, namely, an exile, and
weighed down with various crosses from the Liord,
I can neither refrain from speaking of the great
consolation you have afforded me, nor can I
adequately express my thanks. Master Burcher
and others have often told me of your friendly
greetings. My friend Cheke also has repeated to me
your salutations in your letters to him, and so like-
wise has Sampson in his ; in which I have perused
from your pen many things most gratifying to me.
For I have perceived therein your distress and
vehement sorrow of mind for the universal flock of
Christ. I have perceived, also, at the same time,
a signal manifestation of your benevolence and
regard towards me. The Lord God, I acknow-
ledge, has taken from me all that I had, which
indeed was most ample. But why should He not ?
He who gave has taken away. But what ?
Worldly, earthly, perishable things ; while He is
intending, I hope, yea, I do not doubt, to bestow
upon me things heavenly and imperishable. What
is exile ? A thing which, provided you have
wherewithal to subsist, is painful only in imagina-

Addenda, 179

tion. I know that it is the scourge of the Lord ;
but with what mildness and fatherly affection He
deals with me, I can readily learn even from this,
that He has afforded me for my comforters,
Bullinger, Melancthon, Martyr, and other most
shining lights of His church. Happy was the
widow of Sarepta in experiencing the mercy of
God, and the consolation imparted by Elijah;
wretched and most unworthy were those lepers
who rejected Christ their only comfort. But since
it has seemed good to my God to raise up in you
such an Elijah as can support me in my affliction,
I write these things to you, not so much to express
my thanks for your so great and truly Christian
care bestowed upon me — although these are
especially due to you from me — as to acquaint you
at the same time that I have both derived the
greatest pleasure from those letters of yours to
your friends respecting me, and that I acknowledge
myself exceedingly indebted to you for them.
My friend Cheke bade me, on his departure for
Antwerp, to salute you in his name ; he told me
also that he had heard that Ignatius, in Greek,
had been sent over to some printer at Zurich to be
printed ; if this be the case, will you allow me to
trouble you so far as to procure me a transcript of

l6o History of Ashford.

that passage from the epistle to the Philadelphiand
respecting the marriage of Paul and the other
apostles; I have now a controversy about this
matter with a most impudent Papist. I am
ashamed to say more about this request ; but you
must know that I am of necessity compelled to
make it, for I have no other means of obtaining
what I wish. But as often as I consider what
character BuUinger bears in the general opinion,
my mind tells me before-hand that this little trouble
will not be displeasing to you. Excuse, I pray you,
this liberty. Excuse also my hasty pen* Farewell,
and count me^ I pray you, in the number of your
friends;

** Your's wholly,

"John Ponet, Anglus.
** Formerly Bishop of Winchester/'

To Peter Martyr from Marin Ponet.

" Strasburgh, 15 July, 1557.
*' It is not from any fault of mine, most
^accomplished sir, that you have been so long
without your books. My dear husband has died and
left me a wretched widow, and entirely unacquainted
with these things ; he left also I know not how
knany or what kind of books, all of which, as t

Addenda, i8i

thought they belonged to me, I sold to that excel-
lent person, and my very good friend, Master
Cook; which when I had done. Master Jewel
informed me by letter, that some of them belonged
to your excellency, and that you were making
inquiry after them. As soon as I understood this
to be the case, I addressed myself with all diligence,
and frequently too, to Master Cook, that I might
be permitted to re-purchase, at whatever cost, those
books of yours, which I had before sold him by
mistake for my own. But from some cause or
other I could not obtain my request. Since there-
fore I was exceedingly anxious to restore you your
books, and could find no other way of doing so,
I have purchased new ones at the booksellers, which
I have destined for your reverence, and caused to
be forwarded to you by my worthy friend John Abel.
For although I am but a poor widow, I had rather
die than do an injury to any one, or than not pay
every one their due, as far as lies in my power. It
truly grieves me very much, that I have put off this
business till the present time ; but your kindness
will excuse me, for I should have accomplished it
sooner if I could any where have met with the
books on sale before. Farewell, very learned and
dear sit ; I request you too of your kindness not to

i82 History of Ashford.

forget me in your prayers, and I will always pray
for you.

" Your reverence's most devoted,

" Maria Ponet."
. grammar school.

Page 71. — Although the account previously
given of the tenure by which the master of the
Grammar School holds his house is sufficiently
correct from a practical point of view, it may be
proper to add that there is a surviving trustee
of the property — the Rev. George Norwood, rector
of Mersham, and that Dr. Nance (as I have been
told) was wont to say that he " always had a * set-
off* in the shape of a bill for repairs against the
rent {£16 per annum) which he was called upon to
pay."

Page 75. — Mr. Bate was also vicar of Boughton
Aluph.

COCK fighting.

Page 96. — The entry in the churchwardens'^
accounts shows at what date the inhuman and
singularly inappropriate pastime of " throwing at
cock" was ordered to be discontinued in the church-
yard. From the Kentish Post or Canterbury News
Letter, of 2nd February, 1763, I copy the following
advertisement relating to cock-fighting in this

Addenda. 183

neighbourhood : — ** At the Chequer in Pluckley
Street, on Tuesday and Wednesday, being Feb-
ruary the 8th and gth instant, between the gen-
tleman of Ashford and Pluckley and the gentlemen
of Yalding : each side to show twenty-two cocks ;
to weigh at ten o'clock, and to fight for five
guineas a battle, and ten guineas the odd battle.
There will be a close pit, and a very good twelve-
penny ordinary on the table each day at one
o'clock. Any gentleman or others who please to
favour me with their company, such favours will
be gratefully acknowledged by their most humble
and obedient servant, Henry Cooper."

TURNPIKE ROAD TO HAMSTREET.

Page 143. — Apropos of the improvement in the
roads mentioned by Mr. Furley, as having been
carried out in the latter portion of the last century,
I may add an advertisement from the Kentish
Gazettey of Jan. i8^/t, 1793.

" At a meeting held at the Royal Oak Inn, at
Ashford, on Friday, the nth January, 1793,
pursuant to adjournment from the Dog and Bear
Inn, in Lenham, the 31st December last, for taking
into consideration an application to Parliament for
an Act for a Turnpike Road from Ashford to Ham
Street.

184 History of Ashford.

** Nicholas Roundell Toke, Esq., in the chair.

" The Chairman reported the resolutions of the-
meetings at Lenham, on the 19th November and
3 1 St December last.

** Resolved unanimously — That this meeting da
concur in the resolutions of the last Meeting at
Lenham, that a Turnpike Road from Ashford to
Hamstreet will be of public utility. Resolved
unanimously — That application be made to Parlia-
ment in the present Sessions for an Act for making
the said road. Resolved unanimously — That the
thanks of this meeting be given to Nicholas
Roundell Toke, Esq., for his able and impartial
conduct in the chair. Resolved unanimously —
That this meeting be adjourned to Friday, the 8th
February next, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon,
to be held at this place. N. R. Toke, Chairman."

"The meeting was numerously attended by
inhabitants of Ashford, Kingsnorth, Shadoxhurst,
Ruckinge, Warehorne, Orlestone, New Romney,
Brookland, Appledore, and Kennardington, and
principal occupiers of land in Snave, Ivychurch,
Hope All Saints, Snargate,' Brenzet, and in
Romney Marsh."

NAMES OP STREETS.

Page 149. — I wish it were in my power to enter

Addenda* 185

into the history and origin of the names of the
streets and lands in the parish of Ashford. To
what has heen said hy Mr. Thurston, I can only
add that Robert Lovelace, '< householder/' who died
in 1617, and whose will is in the Registry at
Canterbury, mentions his house in Hemsted Lane
— thus proving that the name has been associated
with the locality for at least 250 years.

shakspearb's allusion to ashford.

We may end our history by reminding our
readers that Shakspeare, in the second part of
King Henry VI., makes one of the most prominent
of Jack Cade's followers to be a butcher of Ash-
ford. —

" Cade. Where's Dick, the butcher of Ashford ?

" Dick, Here, sir.

**Cade. They fell before thee like sheep and
oxen, and thou behavest thyself as if thou hadst
been in thy own slaughter-house ; therefore thus
will I reward thee, the Lent shall be as long again
as it is ; and thou shall have a license to kill for a
hundred lacking one.

" Dick, I desire no more.

** Cade, And to speak truth thou deservest no
less. This monument of the victory will I bear
(putting on Sir Humphrey Stafford's brigandine) ;

1 86 History of Ashford.

and the bodies shall be dragged at my horse heels
till I do come to London, where we will have the
mayor's sword borne before us.

''Dick, If we mean to thrive and do good
break open the gaols and let out the prisoners.

** Cade, Fear not that, I : wartant thee. Come,
let's march toward London."

THE END.

//

T

*» .

N

\

f/

T

\

i

1 86 History of Ashford,

and the bodies shall be dragged at my horse heels
till I do come to London, where we will have the
mayor's sword borne before us.

** Dick, If we mean to thrive and do good
break open the gaols and let out the prisoners.

** Cade. Fearnot-that, I wartant thee. Come,
let's march toward London."

T H B END.

//

1 86 History of Ashford,

and the bodies shall be dragged at my horse heels
till I do come to London, where we will have the
mayor's sword borne before us.

^'Diok, If we mean to thrive and do good
break open the gapls and let out the prisoners.

** Cade. Fearnot that, I warrant thee. Come,
let's march toward London."

T H B END.

//

^^^"^"^^•^mmnmnmmmmmmm

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i86 History of Ash/ord,

and the bodies shall be dragged at my horse heels
till I do come to London, where we will have the
mayor's sword borne before us.

"Dick, If we mean to thrive and do good
break open the gaols and let out the prisoners.

"Cade. Fear not that, I warrant thee. Come,
let's march toward London."

THE END.

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